A Den Of Hate
by Lord Zeuss
Summary: A dark side KOTOR 1 story: A battle-hardened warrior and Jedi Knight named Kono Gansk brings his companions to Korriban in search of a Star Map and plots to seize control of the Sith Academy.
1. Approach

"So what do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what do you think about our mission?"

"Carth, we've got a Dark Lord after us, the expectations of the Jedi and the whole Republic on our backs, and now we have to track down four ancient pieces of technology over five hundred thousand years old. I don't have time to 'think' about our mission. It's just my job to do it."

"Come on, Kono. You must have some kind of feelings about it."

"Who am I to doubt the divine wisdom of the Jedi Council?"

"That's not very funny, considering."

"Carth, I am going to do whatever I have to in order to complete this mission, if that's what you're asking."

"No, that's not what I mean, dangit! What I mean is why did they send you? You, who are just a week out of being declared a Padawan; and that after spending a mere five weeks in Jedi training! Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?"

"I don't really care as to the why, Carth. The Council decided to send me and Bastila. We didn't have any say in the issue."

"I just hope we don't end up regretting letting the Jedi Council involve us in all this."

"News flash, Carth: We were involved long before we went to Dantooine."

"I just don't trust their motives."

"You don't trust anyone."

"Dang right! And I have my reasons!"

"I'm sure you do, Carth. Any time you feel like sharing any of those reasons..."

"Look, Kono, forget I said anything! I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Fine. But we're still heading to Korriban."

"Whatever. Just as long as we're _doing_ something."

* * *

Bastila opened her eyes, breaking her meditative pose. It was no use; she couldn't seem to center herself anymore. Ever since Taris and encountering Kono at the swoop track she had felt as if she were drowning in the torrential waves of power that emanated from him. The Force was a veritable storm around Kono Gansk. Even after being trained by the Masters at Dantooine he was only barely scratching at the surface of the immense power that surrounded him. But its influence on her was unmistakable; she was drowning in it.

Their mission to Tatooine had proven most revealing about his character; the mission took top priority. He never allowed anything to distract him from their primary objective of finding the Star Maps. Bastila was worried about him. His first instincts were always to fight. When taken by surprise; fight. When faced with veiled or open hostility; fight. When things didn't go as planned; fight. She guessed it might have something to do with his background as a Republic soldier. His mindset had been burned into him by years of military training; a couple weeks with a Jedi Master were not going to change that.

This mission could be the death of him. Or worse, it could lead him to the Dark Side. And if he fell, so would she.

More and more, lately, Bastila felt as if her Force Bond to Kono was tying her ever tighter to him in ways she did not understand. It seemed as if he could unconsciously project his moods through the Force. If he was agitated or concerned, so was she. If he was restless, she was also. It was most unsettling, especially at times like this when she realized for the thousandth time that she could no longer successfully meditate.

His presence through the Force was overpowering. Bastila couldn't imagine how Juhani managed to function as well as she did.

Abandoning meditation, Bastila stood up and began to pace restlessly about the _Ebon Hawk_.

T3-M4 rolled about tending to various things in his meticulous routine rounds of the ship. HK-47 had commandeered the table in the main hold to disassemble and reassemble his arsenal of weaponry over and over again - to keep his maintenance subroutines sharp he explained when she asked. Juhani had gone to sleep standing up; a Cathar thing, apparently.

Bastila noticed Kono coming from the cockpit. Her breath came up short at the sight of him, at the unavoidable reminder of his inconceivable power.

Kono's penetrating brown eyes were locked in a perpetually smoldering gaze beneath his prominent brow. His head was covered by long brown hair marked by streaks of blond. Black Jedi robes - acquired on Tatooine from a black market dealer - complimented his strong physical build as well as making it seem as if he could absorb all the light in the universe with his wealth of untapped power.

He noticed her staring.

"Is something wrong, Bastila?" Kono asked.

"Something wrong? Why, no, of course not. I mean, why would--?" Bastila stumbled, silently cursing herself for letting herself get so off-guard around him.

"It's written all over your face, Bastila. You can tell me," he pressed.

Gaining control of herself, Bastila looked at the floor.

"I'm unable to meditate." More of her anxiety crept into her tone than she would have liked.

"Has that ever happened to you before?"

"I first noticed I was having trouble centering myself while we were on Tatooine. It is as if I am drowning in the Force rather than being calmed by it as I should be. It's the most distressing feeling I've ever felt from the Force."

"Hmm." A contemplative expression came across Kono's face. "Come with me. If you cannot meditate, then we shall do the next best thing for your unease; we shall fight."

"Fight? Now?" Bastila was puzzled.

"Yes, fight. It is training, and a Jedi must be constantly training. Fighting helps find one's center in a more visceral way than does meditation. And it is not subject to the fickle moods of the Force." As he talked, Kono led Bastila back to the main hold.

He shrugged off the cloak from his black robes and brought his lightsabre to hand. Without igniting the blade, Kono fell into a Makashi stance and beckoned for Bastila to make a move.

Bastila didn't take the bait and brought her double-bladed sabre out in front of her. With a deft flick of her fingers, she lit the twin amber blades and twirled her lightsabre defensively.

Kono smiled a cold smile and leapt at her, igniting the violet blade of his own lightsabre. She effortlessly parried his first blow, balancing out his forward momentum and locking their sabres together inches from both their faces. With a grunt, Bastila pushed back, separating them by a few feet. She met his eyes, they were flaring to life from the promise of combat.

She attacked him, recklessly throwing herself forward at his single blade with her two. He blocked her with as much ease as she had blocked his initial assault. The long purple blade deflected her swing downward, and he used the momentum to twirl his sabre and reach up to fend off the corresponding strike from the other yellow beam.

They locked sabres again. Neither of them were hardly breathing hard yet. Kono spoke over the clash of their converged lightsabres."You are holding back. Release yourself into the battle. Become one with your blade. Then will you find peace amidst the chaos."

This time it was he who pushed away. Then he attacked once again.

Kono brought his sabre into a low cutting arc, which Bastila deflected. He immediately pulled back all of his forward impetus and twirled his whole body an entire rotation, lending immense thrust into his next blow. She came up lightning fast to block his swing.

He came at her with his violet sabre over and over again; testing her guard, probing her weak points, and taxing her strength. They circled the central table in the main hold, around an oblivious HK-47 totally absorbed in his own work.

Bastila was panting heavily, Kono hadn't even broken a sweat.

When they next clashed sabres together, Bastila gasped; "How do you do it? It is all I can do to fend you off."

Kono grinned at her and tossed loose hair out of his eyes with a shake of his head. "You have to let go of everything, even the Force, and let your lightsabre be guided by the basest of all instincts; survival. The Force is merely a tool, it is not the answer to everything. Let your instincts guide the Force, and the Force shall guide you. Now attack me."

And attack she did.

Bastila threw everything she had at him. Her amber blades hummed excitedly as she spun them in darting attacks. He dodged, parried, and blocked her every blow as they continued to circle the central table. When he counter-attacked, she would move swiftly to close the breaches in her own defenses and turn immediately back to the offensive.

As they fought, their eyes met. Bastila looked deep into Kono's brown eyes, as if searching for the secret of his fighting talent. She became almost entranced as she moved about the motions of the fight. Though her focus was on his eyes, she still attacked with all her energy. She swung her lightsabre with almost automatic precision. She felt the environment around her slip away into nothingness, she could she only Kono's eyes and read only the motion of his violet lightsabre. It was the most peculiar feeling she ever felt during a battle.

It was peace.

Kono broke the trance when he leaned up close, crossing their sabres, and spoke. "Now, do you see?"

Bastila deactivated her lightsabre.

"How do you do that?" She asked, amazed at his proficiency with the lightsabre.

"The more important question is how did you? And the answer is that you drew on my own calm, the calm I achieve during battle. Battle can be the purest of all meditations."

"But you are barely even a Padawan! Just a little over six weeks ago you began your first session with the Jedi Masters. How can you possibly have such a mastery of the lightsabre arts?"  
Bastila asked.

"Tell me, of what did I dream last night?" Kono asked in turn.

Bastila was thrown off-balance by the odd question. "What did you dream? How could I possibly--?" Kono's expression made it clear he was not going to let this go until she answered the question. "Well, I remember seeing visions of a quiet house, which was then consumed by a fire," she responded.

"Yes. That is correct. Tell me now, why it is that you see my dreams and I yours?" Kono inquired.

The answer was obvious. The Force Bond.

"The Force has connected us," she answered.

"Yes. We are connected in stronger ways than you yet know. During my brief period of Jedi training, I called upon your own training to strengthen myself. I know as much as you know of lightsabre combat. And you forget, I was a soldier long before I was a Jedi. As part of the Republic special forces, I received some training in a modified Echani battle-form. Seeing it through the Force has allowed me to achieve a much higher level of physical battle prowess than might be expected of a neophyte Jedi Padawan."

"Can--can you teach me this battle-form?" Bastila asked hesitantly.

"Bastila, you have already taught yourself. What you seek is not instruction, but understanding. Think on my words and what you learned from our fight, and seek me out any time you wish to fight again."

"But I can no longer med--" she stopped short. Where once the Force had been cascading around Kono and filling the entire ship with the noise of its power, there was now a gentle but fast-flowing current. She no longer felt as if she were drowning in the Force, but rather that she was floating on its surface relaxed. Kono was right; the fighting _had_ been just like meditation.

Kono smiled at her and turned to go back to the cockpit, leaving her sorting through a jumble of sudden confused thoughts.

Juhani, who had watched Bastila and Kono's whole lightsabre fight, walked up behind Bastila.

"Bastila, are you alright?" She asked tentatively. "You look... shaken."

"I'm fine, Juhani. Thank you for your concern. I'm seeing clearer now than I have in days," Bastila answered to the Cathar's worry.

"Are you sure? I can sense a change in you." Juhani's brow was furrowed questioningly.

"Kono and I had a sparring session that brought out more in me than I expected. He also told me that he can draw power from the bond that connects him to me and I to him; that is why he learned the lightsabre forms and many other aspects of the Jedi training so quickly. It will take time for me to fully process this," Bastila more thoroughly explained.

"He is a unique individual, that one," Juhani whispered.

"He is indeed."

* * *

"Carth, are we on course?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course we are. What do you think I do in this cockpit all the time? Play pazaak all by my lonesome? Think up ways to make your life miserable?"

"Okay, sorry Carth. I know you're working hard to control the _automated_ hyperspace navigation programs."

"Did you seriously come in here just to make fun of me?"

"No I didn't."

"I thought as much. What is it you want?"

"We need to talk about some things."

"We need to talk about a lot of things. What things in particular?"

"Maybe we could start with Saul Karath."

"What _about_ Saul?"

"Come on, Carth, I've read your profile. You used to be Admiral Karath's golden boy and he was one of the first and foremost Republic officers to betray us to the Sith. Don't tell me that doesn't have something to do with your universal distrust of everyone."

"Well, I suppose it is about time I talked to someone about that. But I don't see how you could possibly understand what it's like to have someone you've respected and trusted implicitly all your life - someone like Saul - turn around and betray you utterly in such a heinous and cold-blooded way. Saul was a mentor to me; a father figure, if you will. Without him, a lot of us would have lost hope early on during the Mandalorian War. He pulled us through some dark and terrible times during the war and led us to incredible victories that none of us thought were possible."

"He was a great man. The last person you'd expect to be a traitor."

"You're dang right about that. Saul was a hero of the Republic many times over. I was astonished, then, when one day he started talking as if we were going to lose it all to the Mandalorians. I just couldn't believe he was saying some of things he said to me. I guess he was trying to recruit me into the Sith, but the thought of that was inconceivable at the time. I can still remember clearly how angry he was at the end of that argument. He stormed off and I never saw him again. Then, the next morning on Telos, the bombs started to drop."

"He sold you out to the Sith?"

"Heck no, he did a whole lot more than that. He was _leading_ that fleet! Those bombs were dropped by _his_ orders! Not only that, but he gave the Sith Telos's defense grid codes so they could bypass our deep-space scanners and enter the system undetected and leave us scrambling to mount a defense while they scorched our world. My wife died in that attack, along with hundreds of thousands of others who were killed in the bombardment. Millions more died from the environmental after-effects. I never knew what happened to my son Dustil. His body was never recovered and he was declared missing by the official reports. I searched for him for weeks, hoping against hope that I'd find him alive, but finally I gave up. That's why I will never place my trust in anyone ever again. Trust is costly, and I've already paid far too much for it. I'm not going through that again; I won't."

"You still have a lot of anger in you, Carth. I can sense that from a mile away."

"Saul destroyed my life, he destroyed millions of other lives, and he laid waste to my home planet. You'd better believe I'm still angry! I swore I'd kill Saul and I intend to keep that oath!"

"Your anger is good. It gives you focus, you draw strength from it. Your determination will carry you through many hard times. But you must be careful not to let your anger overpower reason, for reason is the tool by which anger is turned is turned into a greater weapon than anything borne of the Force. Anger without reason is open-ended, it burns itself out without sustenance. Reasoned anger can be channeled by a rational mind into battle. Such anger is the deadliest weapon of the Sith, and is also their greatest weakness."

"Yeah, except anger leads to the dark side."

"Look at yourself, Carth. Look at how much you've lost. You have a right to your anger. There is no one who can tell you what you should or shouldn't feel. Your emotions are yours alone, and no one has the right to take them away from you. It is through emotion that we fight on for our lives; without emotion life itself is meaningless."

"I've never thought about it that way before."

"Good. A fresh perspective will do you well. I'm going to need you to be well prepared for our next mission."

"Korriban."

"That's right, Korriban. The Den of Hate itself."


	2. Arrival

The _Ebon Hawk_ neared the Sith world Korriban. During the long flight, the crew members had been engaged in various tasks. Carth had the tedious assignment of pilot. Mission, Zaalbar and the droids helped keep up with maintenance. Canderous spent his time in the garage, tweaking Kono's swoop bike and upgrading, fixing, and maintaining his arsenal of weaponry. While the other two Jedi meditated, Kono took some time to talk with the Mandalorian.

"Have you ever killed a Jedi, Canderous?" He inquired.

The muscle-bound warrior nodded his graying head. "Yeah, a couple times. Back in the day."

"During the war?"

"Yeah, of course. In the Battle of Iziz."

"How did things play out for you?"

"Well, we had conquered Onderon early on in the war. We knew we would face stiff resistance from guerrilla units and eventually siege by the Republic, so we dug in as soon as we could. The garrison at Iziz was one of the largest single Mandalorian units deployed. We occupied that city for months waiting in anticipation of when the Republic would finally come to lever us out. And when that day came, we were well prepared for them," Canderous reminisced.

"The siege of Onderon was the biggest military operation in Republic space since the days of the old Sith empire. For those of you who survived, that must have been a glorious battle," Kono commented.

"Indeed it was. Unlike the massacre at Malachor V, it was a true battle, not simply two fleets of ships being ripped apart. We were facing the best of the Republic; the toughest fighters ever to come from the soft world of democracy. But in retrospect, they were nothing compared to what the Jedi threw at us. It seemed almost as if the Jedi Order was created for us to fight. Those Jedi Knights were the perfect opponent. They never backed down, never gave quarter, and _never_ gave up. We might push them back only to have them return with renewed vigor in an hour or two."

Kono had heard stories of Jedi during the war. It had been a chaotic time. "A lot of Jedi went into that war and never came back. You obviously were able to deal with them," he ascertained.

Canderous nodded. "We figured out a system, a defense of sorts, against the kinds of attacks they liked to throw at us. We divided our individual units into swordsmen and crack shots. Jedi or not, it takes a lot to stand up to a Mandalorian sword master. Added to that, Mandalorian crack shots are the best of the best. With that combination we could engage a group of as much as four or five Jedi and have reasonable chances of ending up on top. I was in one of those Jedi defense units. I gunned down three in that siege. Later, when the planet fell to the Republic, I stowed aboard a Republic medical shuttle and hijacked a transport to take me back to the Mandalorian fleet."

"Do you think you could kill me if you had to?"

Canderous was surprised by the question. Kono didn't just ask things like that on a whim. That told him their conversation had been serious from the start.

"No, Kono, I've never seen anything like what you've become. A true warrior knows his limits. There is no possible way I could kill you unless I was given an unfair advantage. And if that were the case there would be no honor or glory in it," the Mandalorian said to the Jedi.

"Is that why you followed me? Because you thought I might become a greater warrior than you?" Kono asked.

"Yes. That and I knew that whoever your enemies are, they are worthy adversaries of a Mandalorian."

"I'm honored, Canderous. We'll be touching down at Korriban in a few hours. I expect to have to kill more than a few Dark Jedi while we're there. So I need you in top form."

Canderous gave Kono a Mandalorian salute. "I'll be ready, Kono. Count on that."

* * *

The whine of the hyperdrive disengaging announced the _Ebon Hawk_'s arrival at Korriban. The surface of the pale brown planet glared in the light of the system's star like a baleful eye. Korriban's lone colony, Dreshdae, was perched on a ridge of mountains overlooking sacred Sith burial grounds., Sitting laterally several miles to the side of the colony was the Sith Academy of Korriban, blocking the only entrance into the valley below where the tombs were. A grid of heavy anti-aircraft turrets was embedded in the ridge to discourage unauthorized air traffic into and over the valley.

Carth worked the controls uneasily as he brought the _Hawk_ in for a landing at Dreshdae's diminutive spaceport. Kono stood next to Carth's pilot seat, observing their descent towards the colony.

Just as expected, the voices of the spaceport's traffic controllers came over the comm in moments. "This is Dreshdae Control to unidentified incoming craft. Your arrival is unscheduled. Please state your intentions and identify yourself."

Carth looked expectantly to Kono.

Kono open the comm channel and responded. "This is the _Ebon Hawk_, requesting a berth and a refuel."

"_Ebon Hawk_, your arrival is unscheduled. Please proceed to Landing Pad 8 and await further instructions. Dreshdae Control out."

"Nice bunch," Carth commented.

"Just bring us in, Carth. I'll worry about the port security," Kono said, turning to leave the cockpit.

He was going to have to make a big entrance; something that couldn't be ignored. Something sinister. A plan began forming in his head.

* * *

The Twi'lek dock officer watched as the freighter approached for a landing at Pad 8. It looked familiar, as if he should recognize it from somewhere. Not that anything about it was particularly remarkable, it just an ordinary freighter. But it tweaked at his memory in an odd way. It was the sort of thing you remembered because you were told to forget you saw it.

With a hiss of hydraulics and stabilizers, the ship settled onto the landing pad. The cargo ramp creaked open, revealing the darkened interior.

Within seconds he heard movement, and a moment later a rust-colored biped droid carrying a heavy repeater rifle stalked down the ramp. Dozens of servos buzzing quietly, the droid aimed the weapon about the landing pad threateningly, scanning the area for threats.

The dock officer coughed, trying to catch the droid's attention against his better judgment. The droid's head swiveled at the sudden exhalation.

"Statement: You will disable the blaster turrets trained on this freighter at once," the droid directed at the dock officer in a vaguely threatening voice.

"I have to follow protocol. Your ship was unexpected, and therefore subject to search. If you refuse or attempt to leave the port your ship will be disabled. By force, if necessary," the dock officer attempted to explain to the droid. At that moment someone else prowled down the cargo ramp.

It was a Cathar woman in flaming red Jedi robes with an impatient glare on her face. She lifted her hand towards a laser turret that stood at the perimeter of the landing pad. All of a sudden, blue lightning arced from her fingertips and devastated the device.

She turned to the startled dock officer. "The Master does care about your 'protocols'. Disable the laser turrets at once." Her accented voice carried a heavy tone of warning.

"I--I'll need to talk to--to your master first," the dock officer stammered, his nerve wavering at the display of the Cathar's Force powers. She turned her nose at him and said simply, "He comes."

The Twi'lek saw, then, a hooded figure slowly descending the ramp. He was dressed in black robes, his face hooded, and he moved with a quiet composure that radiated menace. When he turned his head to the dock officer he revealed a black-painted face with streaks of red around the eyes. His brown eyes themselves seemed as if they could burn a hole in a person's soul.

The dock officer felt his throat constricting, felt himself being lifted off the ground by an invisible force. He thrashed and choked in the grip of the black-robed man's power. When he heard the man speak, it was with a voice more sinister than any he had ever heard. "Turn off those laser turrets you have aimed at my ship," he dropped the Twi'lek to the ground, "or you will suffer horribly for hours until you die."

At his next breath, the dock officer instantly called for the turrets to be disabled, and the black-robed man brushed him aside as if he were nothing.

The Twi'lek struggled to his feet to watch him make for the colony, Cathar and battle droid in tow. A heavily armed Mandalorian swaggered down the cargo ramp, casting a wicked grin the officer's way as he ran to catch up with his companions.

* * *

Kono drew back his black hood. Things at the landing pad had gone smoother than he expected, it had taken very little to impress on the dock officer that he and his crew were not to be trifled with.

"Was that really necessary, Kono?" Juhani asked. She had voiced doubts about the necessity of making such a scene at their arrival at Dreshdae.

"Juhani, we have to get the attention of the Sith here. The only thing they appreciate is power, so we're showing them that we are powerful. I thought you played your part exceptionally well."

"I admit I am a little disturbed by carrying the appearance of a Dark Jedi. It just feels... wrong, somehow. As if resembling something can subtly turn you into that which you emulate. I do not wish to become once again a Dark Jedi."

"Juhani, when you thought you had killed Quatra, it was out of an explosion of pent-up emotions that the Jedi teachings, no matter how hard the Masters tried, could not eradicate. You struck her down during training out of released feelings of anger and resentment, but that was not what caused you to fall to the dark side."

The Cathar gave him a confused look. "But anger _is_ what leads to the dark side!"

"Not anger in and of itself. But misdirected and open-ended anger that does nothing but draw more anger. After you saw that you had killed your master, your anger - repressed for years - had nowhere to go. It became an open-ended anger at everything, and by that you fell. Anger, when directed at the correct things, is not only acceptable but necessary."

"The Code mandates that there must be no passion, only peace," Juhani argued.

Kono's response was measured. He laid out the core of his beliefs. "Juhani, the Jedi Code is not infallible. Neither are the Jedi. Force Sensitives must be within a certain age to be brought for training because their mind and soul have not yet fully formed yet. During that time as they grow the Jedi shape that person's personality to suit their teachings. Sensitives must be very young so emotion can be scoured from their soul. It takes away a part of them and replaces it with doctrine fabricated by mortals.

"Yet, even when training begins at such a young age, still the shadow of emotion remains. It is for this reason that the Jedi Code demands us to be emotionless. Padawans who have spent their whole lives rejecting emotion have little trouble following this dictate and it keeps them from ever discovering the true power of feelings. And thus the rule stands, keeping Jedi from their full potential.

"But we, on the other hand, who were brought to training far too late for our souls to be altered and emotion purged from our beings, cannot deny our feelings. Our feelings give us the power to continue, even when all seems lost. When directed properly, emotion is a tool more powerful than the Force. But we must always be vigilant not to misdirect them, or worse still, let them become open-ended and directed at everything. In such a case, emotion can consume you and drag you into the insane dominion of the dark side."

Juhani seemed as if she was beginning to understand. "I suppose that makes sense. It certainly explains many things."

"For an indoctrinated Jedi who has never felt emotion before, feeling them for the first time can be overwhelming. That is why so many fall to the control of the dark side. They let their new-found feelings consume them," Kono reinforced his point.

"I will think on this, Kono," she promised.

As they drew near to the buildings of Dreshdae, Kono turned to his two blaster-wielding companions; the assassin droid and the Mandalorian. "HK, Canderous, are you ready to take on the entire Sith Academy?" He asked, deadly serious but with a measure of enthusiasm in his voice.

HK-47 responded with a spirited "Ready!" and Canderous nodded his head.

"Good. Don't do so until I give the order. We're gonna need to play this the right way, just as we did at the landing pad. The difference is that the people here will be infinitely more dangerous. One false move," he gave them each a hard stare, "or false shot, and the game is over. And while it may be more fun to simply shoot everything and pick up the pieces left in the wreckage, that is not what we are here for," Kono instructed them. "Do you two understand?"

"Statement: Master, I am programmed to prioritize your orders over my own wants and desires. Reflection: Though I do hope the killing of meatbags is involved in your plan at some point," was HK-47's response.

"A good warrior knows to attack only when the time is right," Canderous assured him. "I'll follow your lead, Kono."

"Good. Juhani?" She nodded her head as if to say, "I am ready." Pleased, Kono continued. "Let's do this."

* * *

It took very little time for them to run into Sith. After stopping for some information at the Czerka office in the main concourse, they found a young Sith threatening two Twi'leks and a Rodian.

"Please, master Shaardan. Give us another chance!" Said one of the Twi'leks, a man.

"We'd kill to get into the academy!" His female companion added.

The Sith, Shaardan, was not impressed by their commitment. "You three can't even answer the simplest question about what makes one a Sith! You wouldn't last five seconds at the academy, the other students would rip you apart."

"But I have to get into that academy!" The Twi'lek woman protested.

"You are wasting my time with your foolish aspirations and my patience is at an end. Time to make an example of you," Shaardan pronounced.

As Kono and the others approached, Shaardan noticed him. He especially noticed the way he was dressed.

"You there! Jedi! I want to make an example of these three idiots, but I can't seem to decide on the best way to do it. It would be quickest just to simply behead them, but that would lack the fun of a good torturing. Help me out, I can't decide," Shaardan called out to him.

Kono took a look at the three pathetic souls on their hands and knees, begging to be let into the Sith Academy. He turned a spiteful glare on Shaardan.

"You know nothing of torture. You are unworthy even to challenge a starved Jawa," Kono said contemptuously. Shaardan gaped at such disrespect.

Before Shaardan could react, Kono reached out and blasted the three unfortunates with a coiled blast of Force lightning. The two Twi'leks and the Rodian screamed horribly as they were cooked alive by the blue bolts that shot from Kono's fingers. Only when the hallway filled with the stench of burned flesh did Kono withdraw the horrible lightning.

Shaardan was dumbstruck. Kono had just robbed him of his afternoon entertainment and demonstrated his immensely superior power.

"Who do you think you are?" Shaardan demanded, his face red with poorly trained anger. "Do you think you can appear out of nowhere and interfere with our business just because you're a Dark Jedi?" He sneered and put on a show of bravado. "Well, I'm far more powerful than you could ever hope to be. You'll be sorry you ever encountered me."

"Then go ahead, make me respect you. I'm standing right here," Kono goaded him.

"You aren't worth my time. If I thought you were a worthy enough opponent I'd squash you like the insect you are. Hey!" Interrupting Shaardan's juvenile taunts, Kono brought his palm up and with a simple Force push sent Shaardan tumbling to the floor.

Shaardan's face got even redder. "So you think you're funny, is that it? This isn't over, Mr. Show-off!" He yelled indignantly while picking himself up.

As Shaardan turned and ran, Kono shouted after him. "Nor would I want it to be!"

When Shaardan was out of earshot, Juhani asked, "Why did you do that, Kono?"

"Because the only thing the Sith respect is power. I told you. We have to show them ours," was Kono's response.

"I meant with those three. Why did you kill them?" She clarified. "The Council would not have approved."

"The Council is not here, Juhani. They are never here. Always they sit in their comfortable chambers and expect us to handle everything so they might look better. On the front-lines we have to use our own judgment. Did you hear those three? 'We'd kill to get into that academy'? This is Korriban, the heart of the Sith threat; everyone here is a potential enemy. Anyone who chooses to inhabit Korriban is a risk; there are no bystanders here. That is simply the way it is."

"Well, then I would like to say that I do not like any of this. But I will trust you to carry out the mission as you are able."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"So what's the plan, Kono?" Canderous asked, bringing up the rear with HK-47.

Kono explained while walked along the concourse, away from the three dead hopefuls. "We need to get into the Valley of the Dark Lords. Access by air is not an option given the sort of defenses the Sith have in place, and ground access is cut off by the Academy. Therefore, our only viable option short of full-scale invasion with forces we don't have is to get into the Sith Academy and work things from there. The only problem we'll have to deal with is getting out without raising suspicion."

"Query: Master, during the course of this mission will it be necessary to terminate more meatbags?" Asked the persistent assassin droid.

Kono chuckled. "Oh, I expect it will be."

Some time later, a group of Sith in identical uniforms approached them, wearing dour expressions. At their head was a young woman who looked to be no more than twenty-two with long blond hair. She might have been attractive but for her perpetually cross demeanor.

"You there, Jedi, just where do you think you're going?" She snapped at him, recognizing him as the leader of his group.

Kono grinned easily at her. "I go wherever I wish to go." His eyes did not smile.

"I presume you mean the academy? Sorry to spoil your fun, but the queue is full up; there's no more entry positions available. My friends and I took the last ones." At this, she crossed her arms and cast Kono a smug glance.

"I guess Shaardan tipped you off about us," Kono observed casually.

"He told us enough; that you are just another upstart Jedi come to Korriban who needs to be dealt with," the woman answered dryly. "You Jedi think you're better than the rest of us just because you're yourselves. Shaardan thought you needed to be taught a lesson. We agreed."

"As if my opinion of that fool Shaardan could get any lower. You guys were the best help he could muster? I'm insulted," Canderous mocked. His insolence was not lost on the Sith woman.

"You think this is funny? We'll teach you the proper respect for the Sith!" She seethed. Suddenly, she and the rest of the Sith with her drew lightsabres and made ready to attack.

"What's your name?" Kono asked the Sith woman, his hand moving for his own lightsabre.

The odd question confused her. "Lashowe. Why? Do you wish to beg for mercy properly?"

"No. I want to be able to accurately label the pile of your dismembered limbs and burned flesh when I dump it unceremoniously down the side of the mountains." Kono smirked evilly at her and nodded to Juhani. Both at the same time, Kono and Juhani ignited their lightsabres; one blue, one violet.

The Sith immediately reacted to the sudden threat, all ten of them activating their red sabres. With a cry of "For the Sith!" Lashowe was the first to leap at the two Jedi. Kono easily deflected her weak swing and shoved her back as the rest of the Sith closed in.

Kono and Juhani were surrounded by red lightsabre blades coming in from all directions. Juhani parried furiously, her red robes swishing about her feet as she gracefully blocked blows from multiple opponents. Kono, instead of taking a defensive stance as Juhani did, attacked with vigor. Every deflection off his purple blade he turned into a offensive strike back at his enemy. His lightsabre hummed and crackled as he held off six Sith single-handedly.

Seeing the Sith fully occupied with the two Jedi, Canderous and HK-47 opened fire with their blaster rifles. Kono and Juhani had been expecting their two companions to try this tactic and dodged and weaved to avoid being hit by friendly fire. The Sith, however, hadn't learned from the Mandalorians as well as they should have, and four Sith were cut down by the red bolts before they had a chance to react. The rest of the Sith were distracted by the sudden appearance of the new threat.

One of Juhani's attackers staggered in indecision for a split-second, and lost his lightsabre hand for it. At the sound of him screaming as he fell to the floor, the Sith were forced to turn their attention back to the Jedi even as Kono ran his sabre through two of his opponents.

Lashowe screamed with rage as she charged Kono. She jumped into the air and somersaulted to lend momentum to her red blade as she bore down on him. Blocking her blow pushed Kono back several paces and she pressed her attack ruthlessly. Lashowe swung her lightsabre wildly, with no apparent direction or strategy behind her attacks. Parrying her blade was challenging only because of her sheer unpredictability. This sort of attack was inventive but, as Kono observed, extremely draining on the attacker.

He sensed Lashowe's stamina waning fast and launched himself back into offensive form. The motions of Makashi came effortlessly to him, his body moved unthinkingly, automatically as he lost himself in the attack.

Lashowe's Sith training paled before Kono's mastery of the blade. He made no movement that did not contribute in some way to his sheer attacking force. Every swing of his lightsabre taxed her strength, put her fragile defense to the test. Fighting him was like fighting a vaporous cloud; he flowed around her, finding all her weak points and vanishing into thin air whenever she tried to strike back. Not even the threat of multiple assailants jarred his fluid commitment to the attack. As another Sith attempted to exploit what he saw as Kono's distractedness he was cut down with a single swipe of Kono's violet sabre.

Lashowe started to panic. She knew she was not going to be able to beat this man.

Her doubt was like a beacon to Kono, the final signal of her defeat. He pulled himself out of his battle trance and reached out with the Force. He caught her by the throat and threw her to the floor. Her lightsabre extinguished itself and clattered out of her reach. Before Lashowe drew another breath, Kono's lightsabre was at her throat.

Kono looked to Juhani, who likewise held her opponent at her mercy. He answered her questioning glance with a resolute stare. She understood; there was to be no mercy to the Sith.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

Juhani froze at the sound of the voice, and Kono looked up to face the newcomer.


	3. Scheme

Yuthura Ban had spent much of the afternoon prowling around Dreshdae. Supervising a long training session at the Academy had put her in a lethargic mood and her routine habit of spending a few hours at the local cantina had proved neither as relaxing nor as satisfying as usual. The purple-skinned Twi'lek woman glared tempestuously as she strode about, her erratic behavior repelling bystanders and pedestrians more effectively than a drawn lightsabre.

The sounds of battle drew her attention. Ten Sith cadets were attacking two Dark Jedi in one of the retail divisions. And oddly enough, the Jedi - one in black, the other in red - seemed to be more than holding their own against the five-to-one odds.

_This just might prove to be an interesting fight,_ Yuthura thought to herself, drawing closer to watch.

The man in the black robes, with the painted face and violet lightsabre, used a modified version of the Makashi lightsabre form that she had never seen before. It was fluid in grace; allowing him to conserve energy by combining parries with attacks, minimizing the total amount of moves he had to make. But at the same time it was ruthless and cold, with a brutal efficiency that the inexperienced Sith were not ready for. Even six of them giving it their all could not break his seamless attacking defense.

She grimaced when she saw a muscle-bound man - a Mandalorian by his appearance - and a rusty assassin droid standing at the sidelines of the battle open fire on the group of Sith, gunning down four of them. Yuthura was disgusted by the students' utter gullibility as they were brought down by simple blaster fire.

The remaining six Sith divided their focus between the Jedi and the two shooters, allowing the red-robed Cathar to take down one of her opponents and the man in the black robes to impale two on his blade.

Yuthura recognized one of the Sith who remained; Lashowe, one of the more promising cadets. She clucked disapprovingly to herself as she watched Lashowe lose all discipline in a furious attack on the black-robed Jedi. He held her off easily and dispatched the other Sith who tried to distract him.

Now it was one-on-one, the Cathar and the Human both facing only a single attacker. Based on how things had played out so far, Yuthura knew beyond any reasonable doubt that the Jedi would win. She was hardly surprised when the black-robed Jedi caught Lashowe in Force choke-hold and flung her to the floor to hold her at sabre-point.

Yuthura was impressed.

"Well, well. What have we here?"

Kono looked up to find Yuthura observing him intently. "Kono Gansk. And you are?"

"My name is Yuthura Ban, I'm a Master at the Academy. I couldn't help but be impressed by your considerable talents with the lightsabre," she casually explained.

Standing so close to him, Yuthura could feel the veritable storm of power he radiated through the Force. It was easy for her to tell that this was an immensely powerful man. His dark robes and black-painted face confirmed what she already knew; he was a Dark Jedi. One of the fallen ones who had turned against the crippled Jedi Order and come to embrace the teachings of the Sith.

His lightsabre hovered over Lashowe's throat, close enough to give her blisters from its heat. Yuthura had a more accommodating idea than to let him kill the two cadets.

"Why don't you let these two go? Now that they're thoroughly humiliated perhaps they will be more attentive in their training. We Sith must always work to make ourselves better, and I sense these two may yet become fine Sith. Nowhere near as great as the Sith _you_ could become, however," Yuthura reasoned.

Kono thought about it for a moment. Then, agreeing, he withdrew the violet sabre from Lashowe's throat and motioned for his Cather companion to do the same.

Lashowe hastily picked herself up and retrieved her fallen lightsabre. She awkwardly bowed to Yuthura. "Thank you, Master Yuthura, for giving us an opportunity to better ourselves," she said, marked insincerity barbing her words.

Yuthura was immune to her impertinence. "Don't thank me yet, Lashowe. You and Lydel will give these two Jedi your medallions," she commanded Lashowe.

"_What_?" Lashowe shrieked, infuriated.

"You will give the Jedi your medallions and then you two may challenge each other for a chance to win my attention and get back into the academy. You have until sundown."

Shaking with rage, Lashowe and the other Sith, Lydel, tore their medallions - small, round pendants carved with Sith symbols - from their necks and dropped them at Yuthura's feet. Yuthura was not satisfied. She slapped them both hard in the face.

"Did I tell you to give them to me? No, you incompetent fools! I told you to give them to the Jedi! Do it or you will never get back into the Sith Academy!" Rage crept into her voice, enough to make to two Sith cadets cringe in fear.

Much subdued, Lashowe and Lydel picked up the medallions and handed them, instead, to the two Jedi standing before them.

Yuthura hit them with a wave of Force energy that sent them flying. "Now get out of here! And don't either of you come back until the other is dead, or I will kill both of you myself!" She yelled. Lashowe and Lydel struggled to their feet and fled from the furious Sith.

Kono studied the medallion in his hand with his deep brown eyes. "What is the significance of these medallions?" He asked.

"To earn a Sith medallion means you have been accepted into the the Sith Academy," Yuthura readily explained. "You _did_ come to Korriban to get into the Academy, did you not?"

"Yes, of course," Kono answered.

"Perhaps we can go somewhere to... discuss a few things beforehand, then. If you are interested," she suggested.

Kono was hesitant. "What do you have in mind?" He asked.

"Just a healthy chat at the local cantina. I can see from a mile away that you have it in you to become a great Sith; perhaps even a Sith Lord. And if you are going to be attending the Academy, I would like to get to know you. Familiarization is an invaluable aid in training and in teaching," Yuthura expounded.

Kono regarded her and the opportunity to fraternize with one of the Academy Masters. Perhaps Yuthura could be turned into an ally. He felt it was worth the risk.

"Very well," he told Yuthura. Turning to Juhani, he told her and the others to return to the ship. He would contact them when Yuthura was ready to take them to the Sith Academy. Then he turned to leave with the Sith woman.

* * *

Kono sipped slowly at the Tarisian ale, trying to ingest as little of it as possible. Alcoholic drinks were not one of his indulgences; he preferred to keep his mind sharp. Inebriation interfered with his functioning and he avoided it whenever possible. Yuthura appeared to have no such qualms, as she obviously enjoyed the intoxicating beverage.

"What drew you here to Korriban?" Yuthura asked over the din of the cantina's music and conversational noise generated by the rest of the club's patrons.

"What brought _you_ here?" Kono asked instead of answering.

"Several things, but I asked first."

"Fair enough. I suppose you could say I was sick of losing. By that I mean in the war. The Jedi Order trained me to serve. Then, when it was time for me to do my duty, they held me back. When the war started I was assigned to a cruiser but not allowed to fight in any of the battles. I was there to be the Council's eyes and ears; a spy instead of the warrior I was meant to be. I was wasted. It soon became clear to me that the Republic is not going to win this war; I saw too many crushing defeats from the bridge of that ship to think any different.

"So I finally cut loose. I seized control of that cruiser, killing anyone who stood in my way, and crashed it ineffectually into the side of a Sith Interdictor. Everyone on board was killed as I escaped in a fighter craft.

"I eventually was forced to crash-land on Taris. There I gathered followers and led an insurrection against Davik Kang, the local Exchange boss. It paid off when I was able to seize his freighter, the _Ebon Hawk_, with which I ran the Sith blockade before Malak ordered the world destroyed." Kono had been working on this elaborate lie for most of the time during the trip from Tatooine. The bits of truth he mixed in with pure fantasy served only to make it the more believable. And he could see that Yuthura was completely taken in by his deception.

"Did the Cathar join you on Taris?"

"Juhani? No. I found her on Dantooine. She was lost and confused, controlled by the very power she thought she had gained by killing her Jedi Master. I helped her regain control of her own power, and she became stronger for it. Now she is my disciple." This was much closer to the actual truth. He _had_ found her on Dantooine and she _had_ been under the dominion of the dark side, with no clue as to how to control either its power or her own emotions. She had nearly been consumed, but now she followed him steadfastly.

"Anyway, after Taris and Dantooine, the title of 'Dark Jedi' became almost derogatory to me, as if I were somehow less than a 'proper' Sith. So now I seek to attain what is the birthright of all Sith; the title of Darth. And what better place to begin than at the heart of the Sith Empire?" Kono reclined in his chair as he finished his tale of half-lies and half-truths.

He grabbed the arm of a passing waiter droid. "Can I get you something, sir?" The droid asked, unruffled by the interruption.

"Yes, the closest thing you have to water," Kono answered.

"Very well, sir," the droid responded and continued on its way.

Yuthura raised an eyebrow. "Nonalcoholic?"

"I prefer to keep my mind clear."

"I see."

"So how did you come to be a Master at the Academy, Yuthura?" Kono returned to his original question.

"It is quite a dull story, actually. I'm sure you don't want me to bore you the details," she attempted to shrug off the inquiry. Kono didn't let it go, however.

"If you are going to be teaching me at the Sith Academy, I would like to know about you. After all, it is important for both teacher and student to know the other. How did you become a Sith?" He persisted.

"If you insist on hearing my sad story. Very well," she relented, and began telling her story.

She had been a slave to a Hutt monster on Sleheyron, along with about twenty or so other Twi'lek women the Hutt kept as dancers and as whores for a prostitution racket. He ruthlessly exploited all his slaves, day in, day out.

Unknown to her and the Hutt overlord at the time, she was very sensitive to the Force. One day, the Hutt's goons dragged in a captured Jedi Padawan. The Jedi reacted to her presence so strongly - and she to his - that she began to grasp at the base notions of the Force. The Jedi was executed a short time later, but the experience had left her thinking of escape.

A few days later, when the Hutt had her brought in to dance for him in private, she stabbed the bloated worm and made her escape. She then stowed aboard a freighter which later crashed on a desolate planet where she was eventually discovered by the Jedi. One Jedi Master, an old, wrinkled woman, took her in for training. But things did not go well, and eventually Yuthura ran away from the Jedi as well. But her Force powers continued to develop regardless.

Roaming the galaxy, Yuthura had been among the first to arrive at Korriban when Revan revived the Sith and established an academy for the Sith by the Valley of the Dark Lords. Of the first group, she and Uthar Wynn had been appointed by Darth Revan himself to be the first teachers of his new Sith; though Uthar was given the prestigious position of Academy Master.

"Uthar eventually accepted me as his apprentice, though it was more for convenience's sake than anything else. He and I do not see eye to eye and we are each wary of the other. He knows I will challenge him sooner or later," Yuthura said with suggestion shading her voice, leaning over the table closer to him.

Kono was only a few moments deciphering the implied message in Yuthura's words. She certainly was ambitious.

"You saw my skills with a lightsabre. You want my help to kill Uthar and take over the Academy, don't you?" Kono deduced.

"How very perceptive of you. I like a man of intelligence," Yuthura purred. "I've seen the rest of the Sith cadets and I can tell you now, they don't have half the potential you have. Therefore, I'm willing to offer you this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Beat out the other students and be the one whom Uthar chooses to name a Sith. Then we will have him alone in the tomb of Naga Sadow; the perfect place to arrange for a shift in the Academy's leadership, so to speak. Then we could both be Masters of the Academy and you would earn the respect you deserve. Who knows? Perhaps Lord Malak himself might take notice of you."

"Why is the tomb of Naga Sadow important?" Kono inquired, sensing information relevant to his overarching mission.

"It was the only place Lords Revan and Malak visited when they came to Korriban the first time. When they later returned to establish the Academy, Darth Revan declared it off-limits to all but the Academy Masters and those sole graduates of the Sith cadet groups. When Uthar accepted me as his apprentice I saw the tomb's interior the first time. There is an old map of an ancient, galaxy-spanning empire in one of the tomb's many chambers. The archaeologists believe it to be from the days of the ancient Sith Lords, but there are theories that it could be even older.

"The tomb of Naga Sadow is the final proving ground for the one chosen to become a full Sith. Many old and forgotten dangers still lie within its dark passages. Those who come out are stronger for it and those who do not are unworthy to become Sith. Thus it is perfect for our purposes," Yuthura related.

If she was indeed willing to go through with such an ambitious scheme than his plans could be accelerated considerably. But first, he needed some reassurances; at least, as far as such things could go with Sith.

"You have just given me potentially damaging information that I could easily give to Uthar in order to gain status in his eyes. What's to stop me from betraying you to Uthar for my own gain?" He asked.

Yuthura smiled at his keen observation. "The same reason why I wouldn't give you false information to mislead you and bring myself into greater status at your expense," she raised her eyebrow. "The fact is, we both gain the most power this way. Neither of us has motive to betray the other. We both benefit from Uthar's death."

"Very well, then. You make a sound offer, I'm willing to do my part," Kono consented.

"Excellent! I'm glad you see that our partnership will be mutually beneficial. Perhaps I can book a back room where we can celebrate our covert alliance... in private," Yuthura said, insinuation heavy in her words.

Kono responded to her innuendo carefully.

"Yes, do that." Before she could go speak to the cantina manager about the back room, Kono grabbed her arm. "_After_ we kill Uthar," he clarified. He had injected just enough venom into his clarification to make sure she got his message but not so much that she took it as a rejection; which would have been detrimental to his purposes.

"Yes, perhaps celebration now would be premature. But when Uthar is dead, you and I are going to have a very enjoyable evening together; that I promise."

Kono flashed an insincere smile at Yuthura's perverse vow.

"The sooner we begin, the sooner Uthar dies."

"Yes, indeed. If you are ready, we can go to the Academy now," Yuthura advised him.

"Good. I will alert Juhani and we will go."

* * *

The walk from Dreshdae to the Academy was a short one. Yuthura led the way for Kono, flanked by Juhani and followed by Canderous and HK-47, as they descended into the mountain pass where waited the entrance to the Sith Academy of Korriban.

Juhani had been suspicious of what Kono and Yuthura had been discussing, if indeed they had been discussing anything at all. Kono merely answered that they had come to a business arrangement that would expedite their mission. The Cathar accepted the explanation but still cast the Twi'lek dark glances.

Neither Canderous nor the droid said anything to Kono. What happened between two meatbags, one with an obvious attraction to the other, was not HK's concern. And Canderous could tell Kono was already grasping for allies, and appeared to have found one in the Twi'lek Sith.

Approaching the academy entrance, Kono saw that a small crowd was gathered by the black doors. Several humans, an Aqualish, and a Twi'lek stood by the gate, looking like they had been standing there for days in the harsh mountain sunlight and winds. A Sith nearby watched the group with amusement as they exhaustedly stuck to their positions by the doors.

Kono motioned for Yuthura to continue on and wait for him and strode toward the Sith watching the ragged group by the gate. If he was correct, this was another cadet, and therefore another target to be taken care of.

"Enjoying the suffering of the helpless?" Kono asked as he drew near.

"Don't tell me you're one of the sensitive ones who cares more about a total stranger than for their own good? I have no patience for those who pity the weak," the Sith spat.

"I assure you that pity did not drive my words. I simply wish to know what you are doing; out in these less than hospitable conditions," Kono elucidated.

"It does amuse me. Watching their pathetic attempts at dedication, that is. They think if they stand there long enough I'll let them become a Sith, just because I told them! They are weak and ignorant fools deserving of the slow and agonizing torment they have heaped upon themselves. And yes, it provides me with immense amusement. That is the power of the Sith; to hold the lives of the weak in your hand as you crush their hopes and moronic aspirations. It is so easy it almost becomes boring at times.

"My name is Mekel, and I hope you are not expecting me to let you into the Academy just because you look scary."

Mekel's overdrawn and melodramatic monologue about Sith power was laughable. Kono could easily tell that this was a man far too full of himself.

"Well, I hope you handle disappointments well, Mekel," Kono returned with a smile that contained no mirth whatsoever.

He came near to the closest human who stood by the academy gate, struggling to stay on his feet. Mekel was certainly right about their pathetic condition; they clearly believed his lie that they could become a Sith by standing long enough.

Kono weighed the possibilities.

These people were going to die eventually. Whether of starvation, thirst, or pure exhaustion; it didn't matter which. Given the reasons for which they were slowly killing themselves, there was little to no room for mercy. They were enemies and their deaths would bring his plan closer to fruition by robbing Mekel of his amusement.

In a moment, the group of forlorn figures standing before him changed from victim to adversary. He opened his mind to unmitigated attack. His lightsabre came to hand. The purple blade shot forth.

Mekel spluttered and the silver-armored Sith Soldiers standing by the gate gripped their weapons apprehensively as Kono stabbed the first human through the chest. As the man fell, Kono spun neatly in a half-circle, simultaneously pulling his sabre free from the corpse and swinging it to behead the Aqualish and another human. With a swift chop, he bisected the shoulders of the Twi'lek and extinguished his lightsabre. The remaining two humans were violently thrown backward at the stone walls of the mountain. Their necks snapped in a pair of sickening crunches.

Kono cast Mekel a smirk and swished his black cloak in mockery as he departed to rejoin Yuthura.

"You just made an enemy you don't need, Jedi! I will crush you!" Mekel shouted after him.

Juhani was unhappy at what she'd seen Kono do, but his earlier words about the threat posed by everyone aspiring to enter the Sith Academy came to mind, fought with her ingrained Jedi perspective. His actions were undeniably wrong but, at the same time, seemed completely justified. She was confused, and kept silent as Kono came near.

As Kono, Juhani, Canderous, and HK stood by, Yuthura drew a crescent-shaped pendant from her neck and fitted it to a matching hollow in the middle of the black doors that blocked entrance to the Sith Academy. She turned it in the socket and the doors began to swing inward, their mechanized hinges hissing.

The cave-like interior of the Sith Academy opened up before them.

"Master Yuthura! Master Yuthura!" A voice interrupted the Twi'lek before she could take more than a step into the dark university. She and Kono turned around in irritation at the call.

Blond hair flying as she ran towards them, Lashowe shouted over the wind at Yuthura. She was carrying something Kono could not make out from the distance. And she came nearer, he noticed a sharp odor, which, when she came to a stop at the gate, he recognized.

She dropped her load on the ground. It was Lydel's smoking head.

Lashowe smiled at Yuthura amidst the stench of burnt flesh. The Twi'lek raised an eyebrow and nodded at her. "Well done, Lashowe," was all she said.

Lashowe sneered triumphantly at Kono, who smirked in turn. "You are going to be sorry you didn't kill me when you had the chance," she asserted confidently.

"You will be wishing I had killed you soon enough, Lashowe."

She huffed at his remark and stuck her nose up in the air, refusing to look at him.

Kono disregarded her; he would take care of her sooner or later, depending on how long it took her to get in his way. He took a deep breath of anticipation as he stepped out of the light of Korriban's bleak sun and into the shadowed buildings of the Sith Academy.

* * *

Uthar Wynn, the Academy Master, was a tall, well-built human. His face and bald head were covered in ritualistic tattoos and his eerie tan eyes spoke of profound and threatening knowledge. He wore a well-crafted lightsabre at his belt that looked to have seen many hard battles. All of the Sith cadets who filtered into the central chamber kept some degree of unspoken respect for Uthar.

Kono studied him; noting his physical appearance, the manner in which he held himself, and small tell-tale indicators of unconscious tendencies. Systematically, he sized up his adversary.

Close to twenty cadets had gathered in the chamber. Uthar began to address them. His voice carried firm authority. "Welcome, students. It appears some of our expected entrants have fallen out of the running. Who is this you bring in their stead, Yuthura? A prodigy of the Force, or simply another potential?"

"Kono Gansk. A human who has had some training in the Force and immense skill with a lightsabre. I have found him very promising, Uthar," Yuthura answered respectfully.

From amongst the group of cadets, Kono heard an incredulous guffaw. When he located its source he was hardly surprised to find Shaardan, scoffing in contempt.

"Promising? He is not worthy of anything but a quick execution, Master. Not even to lick spit from your shoes!"

Uthar turned a muted glare on the arrogant Shaardan. "I will judge that for myself, thank you." Shaardan's sneer was subdued by the rebuke. "Tell me, Kono, with what propaganda have the Jedi influenced you? With what preconceptions has your mind been polluted?"

Preferring to stick to truths, Kono was grateful that this question he could answer somewhat honestly. "After spending years killing Sith, there is little room left over for preconceptions." He looked Uthar straight in the eyes as he said it; boldly sending a message that he was not intimidated by the Sith Master's presence.

Uthar raised an eyebrow in interest. "Indeed? If so, those who could not stand against you deserved their fate. Do not expect any here to seek retribution for those too weak to best you." Uthar looked about the group of cadets. He singled out Lashowe with a stare. "Tell me, Lashowe, are you prepared to become a Sith, to learn the ways of the Force and unlock the secrets of the Dark Side?"

"I am ready, Master!" She said with nefarious enthusiasm.

"Brash and fiery as expected. Turn that energy to your advantage, or you will never pass the tests ahead of you." Scanning the group once again, Uthar settled on Mekel, who stood glowering at Kono. "What of you, Mekel? Are you ready?" He asked.

"I am, Master. More than ready."

"I sense much anger in you. That is good. It will give you strength for the trials to come." At last, Uthar's gaze found Kono. "And you, Kono? Are you willing to fully embrace the Dark Side and the teachings of the Sith?"

Kono gave Uthar the slightest of grins as he answered. "Ask the nine Sith I killed hours ago in Dreshdae if they think I am ready."

Uthar's eyebrow came up again. He glanced at Yuthura; who nodded, confirming the fact.

"Welcome to the Dark Side, cadets. Your one chance at true greatness lies here."


	4. Hunt

_Four days later..._

Kono wiped nervous sweat from his brow as he ran through the darkened caves, fleeing a pack of ravenous shyrack. Purple light from his active lightsabre lit the way for him as he tore across the tunnels, hearing the shrieks and cries of the pursuing shyrack uncomfortably close behind. The smell of the winged predators permeated the dank underground cavity in which they made their nests. Kono had walked into the middle of one of the larger ones.

The beasts by themselves posed little threat to him, but in large packs such as these he knew he would be hard pressed to hold them all off. Shyrack attacked with a vicious ferocity having regard for their own well-being, especially when protecting their nests, and in sufficient numbers could easily swamp even a skilled lightsabre-wielder. He had to find a way to thin them off, break the horde into a manageable stream that could be exterminated with comparable ease.

He consulted the mental map of the caves he had formed when he entered through the opening at the bottom of the mountains. The sight of a familiar rock formation clicked with the information in his memory and a plan sprang to life.

Ahead was a turn-off, a side-opening with a narrow entrance; it would do perfectly. Robes flying, Kono swerved to the side and leapt into the air, planting his feet at the side of the opening and catapulting himself off the rock face to sail into the side-cavern. He tumbled to the ground and scrambled to his feet, holding his sabre out in front of him as milliseconds ticked by waiting for the shyrack to catch up.

The sounds of dozens of wings flapping, fanged mouths snapping, and feral hunting cries filled the passage as the pack loomed nearer. Time slowed to a crawl. Kono listened to the sound of his own panting, felt each individual drop of sweat trickling down his face and neck, tensed every muscle of his sabre hand.

In merely a moment, the tables would turn. The attack would be his.

A screeching shyrack reached the opening. With its sensitive scent organs it located Kono standing before it in less than a second. It swooped down to attack, others of its kind following as it dove for Kono with outstretched talons.

Kono's sabre hummed, and a pair of shyrack wings fell severed to the floor of the cavern.

More of the ghastly predators lunged at him.

He was fully committed now. He had the advantage, and he was finished running. Kono gave himself over to his instincts and let them guide through the furious motions of the fight for one's life.

His violet lightsabre swung in tremendous arcs, cutting through many shyrack in single sweeps. It came down in swift, vicious chops to eliminate injured beasts that lay on the ground, attempting to gnaw at his legs. Blasts of compressed Force energy knocked the creatures against the stone walls, stunning them.

Shyrack corpses piled up at Kono's feet. Smoking, charred, and dismembered wings and pieces of the beasts were strewn everywhere as the horde came relentlessly at him, the narrow opening squeezing their numbers into ineffectual groups which he easily dispatched. The cavern began to fill with the stench of shyrack viscera as it spilled from the carcasses on the floor.

The numbers of shyrack that flew through the opening became less and less until they were little more than a trickle. Finally the last of the shyrack fell beneath Kono's lightsabre and there came no others; the pack had been exterminated. He switched off his lightsabre and the cave plunged into blackness and silence.

A few minutes passed and he began to hear faint voices; undoubtedly they were the voices of his very targets, come to investigate the screeching shyrack and pervading stench.

The raid of another Sith student's room had turned up an interesting bit of information regarding a group of cadets who had refused to execute some prisoners. Those Sith were wanted dead by the Academy Master and much prestige would be granted to the one who killed them. Apparently the student whose room Kono broke into had turned up a lead on their whereabouts.Kono subsequently killed him for this information and took up the hunt on his own.

He had tracked the rogue Sith down the mountains and found the entrance to the shyrack cave where the dead Sith suspected they were hiding out. The shyrack were their early warning system for detecting intruders, as Kono had discovered. They had nests all over the place and stumbling into one by accident was almost impossible to avoid. They didn't know that they had just been reeled in by their own trap.

Kono had them now.

He stowed his lightsabre at his belt and brought to hand two exotic blades that he clipped to his wrists. They were swivel-hinged on the wrist clasp so they could easily be used for slashing and cutting while keeping the hands free. It was his own design, and they worked into his unique fighting style perfectly. Also their traditional steel edges allowed for a more visceral feel in a fight than did the lightsabre.

Kono twirled his wrist-blades experimentally and held them to his sides, waiting for the voices to come nearer. As a light began progressing through the tunnel towards him he hugged the rock wall and cast his cloak over as much of himself as possible, to lower his visibility and preserve the key element of surprise.

The advancing glow illuminated four figures wearing dirty gray Sith uniforms. One of them held a glow panel that lit their way. Kono listened to their anxious voices as they crept closer to the scene of the carnage where he waited for them, concealed in plain sight.

"--so many of them this time. I don't think whoever it was could possibly have killed them all."

"Well, I don't think it's good to assume anything at this point, Jarn."

"Did you hear them screeching, Tyra? It must have been an entire pack!"

"Keep your voice down! Sounds travel a long way in these caves."

"Well, all I'm saying is--oh, kek."

Kono saw them arrive at the foot of the first mound of gore that was strewn over the floor of the tunnel. They could see the blood spattered walls and shyrack pieces all over. But they did not see Kono as he extended his hand towards the man carrying the glow panel. Through the Force, he tugged it from the man's grasp and in an instant smothered its light with his hand.

The cave plunged back into blackness and the four Sith raised their voices in panic. There was going to be no escape for them now.

Kono could see them through the Force as clear as if the tunnel had been lit by starship lights. They were fumbling about in the dark for the lightsabres at their belts, but their actions took precious seconds; seconds they did not have. Taking a single breath, Kono flipped his wrists, swinging the two blades so their points reached down his arms toward his elbows and jumped away from the wall, reaching his arms for the nearest two throats.

All in one instant, Kono's wrist blades sliced the necks of the closest two Sith students, spraying arterial blood all over the walls, and the other Sith grasped their lightsabres and activated twin red beams. In the sudden light, they glimpsed a flash of movement before them and saw their two comrades fall to the floor gushing blood that was bleached colorless in the red glow of the lightsabres. They whirled about looking for their assailant, but found nothing. Kono had melted back up against the wall, his blades dripping sanguine liquid onto the black robes against which they were held.

Kono exhaled silently as he watched the two remaining Sith - a dark-skinned human woman and green-hued Twi'lek man - look about fearfully, trying in vain to find the attacker who stood right before them. He let another second tick by, and they made the mistake of turning their backs on him; a mistake they were unaware of making.

He took a breath, inhaling sharply to make himself known as he lunged at them.

The dark-skinned woman whipped around to see him flying at them and gave the Twi'lek a lightning-quick shove. She tried to bring her lightsabre to bear but Kono was faster, slicing open her sabre hand and causing her to drop the weapon. She cried out in pain and screamed at the Twi'lek to escape as Kono brought his other wrist blade into play by stabbing clear through the shoulder. Obeying his friend's command, the Twi'lek took off.

Kono grunted as he drove the second blade through the woman's other shoulder and gave a mighty upward heave, the razor-sharp blades severing both shoulders from her collar-bone. She screamed again and crumpled to the floor as blood erupted from the hideous wounds.

Looking up, Kono saw the Twi'lek's red lightsabre glowing in the distance farther down the tunnel. He took off in a sprint after the fleeing Sith. If there were any others besides these, the Twi'lek was going to lead him straight to them.

Kono trudged back up the mountain slope some hours later, his robes stained and carrying six red-soaked medallions by the chains; one taken from each rogue Sith he had slain. Every one of them had deserved their fate. In the end, their mercy had been the ultimate cruelty; the prisoners they had spared were instead tortured to death while the rogue students escaped.

Uthar would be pleased, and Kono was brought one step closer to his goals.

* * *

The Sith Soldiers standing guard at the entrance took one look at him, the black robes and his grisly trophies, and opened the doors hastily for him. Just inside waited another Sith student, a young man looking to be no more than nineteen years old. He had a perpetual scowl in his blue eyes and a rich carpet of dark brown hair. He glared furiously at Kono.

"You! Kono! Just who do you think you are?" He demanded.

"The last person to say that to me ended up on his ass and lost what little respect I might ever have held for him," Kono forewarned the kid.

"I don't care about your respect! What makes you think the rest of us are just going to sit back and let you steal the show?" He spat.

"You mean besides the fact that that's exactly what's been happening?" Kono's quick turnaround flustered the teenager.

"Well, no more!" The kid drew a lightsabre. "I'm sick of watching you go unchallenged, so I'm challenging you now. Come on, fight me. Or are you too full of yourself to respond to a confrontation that you didn't instigate?"

Kono's lightsabre was out in a flash. "If you wish to fight, then let us begin." He held the medallions in one clenched fist and tapped the switch on the lightsabre held in his other hand, bringing the purple blade to bear. The young Sith eagerly ignited his red sabre and sprang forward. With a single-handed block, Kono deflected the Sith's lightsabre and launched himself into a furious single-handed fight.

He could feel the Sith's uncontrollable anger boiling forth in his every move; he recklessly cast his blade about in ferocious swings and swift chops. The Sith gave no thought to strategy, only to the next swing of his sabre. Parrying his attacks was more taxing than Kono had initially expected; a rare underestimation on his part. Still, even with one hand occupied, Kono was able to hold him off without undue difficulty.

To his credit, when the Sith realized he bitten off more than he could chew, he only fought harder, straining to breach Kono's seamless defense. No matter where he struck, Kono's blade deflected his blow, and turned the attack back on him. The Sith gritted his teeth and lashed out with a blast of Force energy from his hand--which Kono anticipated perfectly and nullified with a blast from his own hand.

The Sith's eyes widened as he finally began to fathom just how powerful Kono was.

His realization cost him a split second, and Kono flowed through his guard. In his moment of hesitation, the Sith felt Kono bring a blow upon his lightsabre at an unexpected angle with far more force than he expected. The red sabre spun out of his grasp, leaving him helpless before Kono.

Kono held the Sith at sabre-point, the medallions still dangling from his free hand.

"You look just like that scum Revan," the Sith spat contemptuously. "Go ahead, kill me. I don't care."

"What's your name?" Kono asked, instead of doing as the Sith said.

"Dustil O--just Dustil," he said, faltering, wondering why he wasn't dead yet.

_Dustil Onasi_. That was what he had been about to say. He might have stopped his voice short, but his thoughts betrayed him as easily as would a flashing neon sign. This was unexpected, but Kono was pleased by the surprise.

"How did I beat you, Dustil?"

Dustil was fully perplexed now.

"What?"

"I asked how I beat you."

"You're stronger than me. I thought you'd made it obvious," he said with irritation.

Kono shook his head in disapproval. "No, I beat you because you because I kept my head. You, on the other hand, thought that if you drew on blind anger you would gain the strength to win."

"You're too ominous to be spouting that Jedi-speak," Dustil quipped.

"I don't think you're in a position to judge that," Kono reminded him. "You've been taught that anger gives you strength, but the truth is you have no idea how to use the strength it gives you. You are ignorant of the true power of emotion; you believe that if you let yourself be consumed by it you will be better for it. To the contrary, it has only weakened you. Instead of aiding you, your unquenchable anger born of losing your home planet of Telos has stripped away your ability to think rationally."

Dustil flinched. "How can you possibly know I'm from Telos?" He demanded.

"You haven't bothered to shield your thoughts. I saw right through your deception. You are Dustil Onasi, son of Carth Onasi. I served with your father for a time; I know all about you," Kono answered. "He's dead now, by the way. His ship got shot down over Taris before the bombardment."

"Do you want me to cry for my dad, is that it? News flash: I. Don't. Care. He abandoned us on Telos and I got captured. It's his fault mother died," Dustil ranted.

"Well now he's dead. And you have absolutely no idea what to do with your anger, that anger at him you built up all these years. And so it bleeds through in everything you do. You think it makes you stronger but it makes you weaker; feeds you with a pathetic imitation of power that you embrace anyway."

"Just kill me. Don't bore me to death with your lectures."

"No."

Dustil was indignant. "What do you mean _no_?"

"If not for your untrained anger, you could be more powerful than most of the students in this place. I respect such potential." Kono deactivated his lightsabre. "You are no match for me, and if you challenge me again I will kill you. But I think you know that there is much you could learn from me, much I could teach you. Not the least of which things is learning to use anger properly. After all, most Sith rise through the ranks by forming alliances with other, more powerful individuals."

Dustil's glower cooled. "I suppose I see your point. What is it you want me for?"

"I have plans, plans I suspect you would want to be included in. Kill Lashowe for me and I will be willing to discuss them with you further," Kono elaborated.

"Lashowe? The blond?"

"That's the one."

Dustil grinned. "How do you want it done?"

"However you so desire. Kill her in a fair fight, murder her in her bed; I don't really care as long as the other students can tell it was you who did it. You've been here a long time and not raised enough attention to yourself. Now it's time to start making yourself known," Kono admonished.

"Alright, Kono, I'll do things your way. But you'd better hold up your end."

Kono reached out and drew Dustil's fallen lightsabre into his hand. He handed the hilt to the young Sith.

"Lesson one: Never lose your lightsabre; this weapon is your life."

* * *

Kono returned to his quarters after presenting the six bloody medallions to Uthar. Uthar had been impressed by his execution of the rogue Sith who had escaped their punishment, and Kono was in a good mood; expecting Juhani to have finished her task and be waiting for him.

She wasn't.

Canderous and HK-47 loitered around in his quarters, idly checking their armaments, but Juhani was absent.

"Where's Juhani?" Kono demanded.

Canderous scratched his head. "The Cathar? I haven't seen her since this morning. She came by to do her sleep-standing thing for an hour and then took off for that tomb you mentioned," Canderous replied.

"I've been gone for two days, Canderous. She was supposed to have done that yesterday. What was she doing that took up a whole day?"

The Mandalorian shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Kono. "Well, she specifically asked me not to tell you, but I think she found an old boyfriend."

Kono sighed in helpless frustration. He'd known there was a possibility things could go wrong while he was gone and had been wary of sending Juhani off on her own in the first place. The last thing he needed right now was for Juhani to have an epiphany and revert back to the narrow views enforced by the Jedi Council. Undue all his work with her.

There was nothing he could do about that right now. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't spare the time to set Juhani straight; there were other things he needed to take care of.

"Ok, Canderous, HK, I need you two to go help Juhani; she should have been finished with her task by now regardless, so something must have happened. I have things of my own to take care of, so I'm counting on you two," Kono told them.

HK-47 eagerly twirled his blaster pistols.

* * *

They were all around her. Lethal weapons and sensor nodes glowing in the darkness of the catacombs, the ancient two-legged destroyer droids stalked her with deadly purpose. The tomb was filled with them, they lurked around every bend of the winding tunnels and behind every sealed door.

Juhani parried dozens of blaster bolts with her blue lightsabre as she fended off six of the droids at once. By themselves, even the toughest battle droid was no match for an adequately-trained Jedi like her, but these droids came in packs and attacked with cold efficiency. Merely the act of dodging and blocking their shots was tiring, for their were so many.

A crumbling stone column at one of the walls beside her attackers offered Juhani a rare advantage. Reaching out with the Force, she toppled it over. It fell heavily and crashed into three of the attacking droids, crushing them. Pressing her advantage, she leapt at the three that remained in front her, deflecting two blaster bolts directly back at them and destroying one outright. She scythed her lightsabre in an arc and cut a second droid's blaster in half. Whirling her body, Juhani brought her blade about and sliced through the third droid's head.

And then she took off running again, the sounds of maniacal laughter still ringing in her ears.

Kono had sent her into the tomb of Sith Lord Tulak Hord to find a Sith tablet that Uthar's last master, Jorak Uln, had hidden away; he had it on good authority that it was inside the tomb. Neither he nor she had counted on someone activating the tomb's old guard droids and turning the place into a death trap. All the exit shafts sealed themselves off and shut her in with the battle droids, leaving her to fight for her life. Juhani had heard a crazed laugh when the doors slammed shut; a laugh that seemed to follow her wherever she went in the dark passages of the tomb.

The tunnels were laid out like a vast maze in the mountainside, dozens of passages branched off in every direction; each with at least two of the destroyer droids and none with a way out. They brought Juhani around in circles and into dead ends in her never-ending flight.

She'd been trapped inside the tomb for close to twelve hours, and even Force-assisted adrenaline couldn't keep her body going for much longer. Her legs stung from the effort of her sprints, her reaction times were slowed considerably, presenting the very potent danger of being overpowered by the superior numbers of her attackers. Worst of all, she was beginning to trouble thinking clearly. If she couldn't find a way out of the tomb soon, she probably never would.

A door slid open to Juhani's left.

Sliding on smooth stone floor, she barreled into the new passageway without thinking. Too late, her senses alerted her to a new danger; toxic gas.

She had time to cough once at the noxious fumes before she passed out.

* * *

The entrance to the tomb of Ajunta Pall loomed on the mountainside in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Not since the tomb was uncovered had a single Sith student gone in and returned; all disappeared into the dark abyss of the Sith Lord's resting place. Fifty-seven students and potentials had tried venturing into the tomb and each one of them vanished, never to be seen again.

According to Sith texts, Ajunta Pall's legendary sword was buried with him. It was a powerful artifact of the ancient Sith, and Master Uthar continually promised great rewards to the one able to retrieve it from the deadly tomb. But none ever had.

Kono had little time to reflect on the tomb's fatal reputation; if there was a good chance Ajunta Pall's sword lay within, he had to enter. It would bring him one step closer to entering the tomb of Naga Sadow and finding the Star Map, as well as further his private pact with Yuthura.

The Sith students and archaeologists who scurried about the outside of the tomb's entrance scattered when they saw him approaching with obvious intent. They did not want to be around when the tomb swallowed someone else. Kono ignored them, as they posed no threat, and instead focused his strength on repelling the seductive waves of dark-side energy that flowed from the mouth of the tomb, eager to dominate and destroy his mind.

It would be so easy for him to simply let go and allow the dark side of the Force to inundate him. Its promises were so enormously compelling and intense that he had to consciously focus on retaining his own thoughts. Tantalizing glimpses of vast powers beyond his imagining played at his mind. He furiously worked to shut them out, to keep the deceptive visions of omnipotence from eating away at his rational thoughts.

This was more than simply the call of the dark side, Kono realized, it was an invisible trap. A ward of the tomb that destroyed all who came to enter. One designed specifically to ensnare Jedi.

He resisted the almost overwhelming urge to surrender his will to the dark side, held an iron grip on his control over his power. This was that in which so many Sith failed; they turned themselves into willing slaves of the power they coveted.

With tremendous strength, Kono forced his way past the intangible barriers guarding the tomb and crossed the threshold with his power, mind, and sanity intact.

The dark yawning chasm of the tomb stretched out in front of him, beckoning. Kono proceeded cautiously, warily watching the deep shadows that lay before him as the light of Korriban's surface faded. Choosing to forgo the use of a glow-panel, Kono opened his mind to his Force perceptions, allowing them to illuminate the path ahead brighter than would a full-noon sun. The light in the tunnel around him eventually gave way to utter darkness as he continued onward into the depths of the tomb.

There were almost no side-passages off of the main hallway, the tomb consisted mainly of the single tunnel; driving ever onward into the mountain. The tunnel itself was all but bare, nothing besides the occasional fallen block from the ceiling marred the otherwise empty passage. Dust lay all about, only disturbed in the center of walkway by dozens of footprints; most settled over with their own layers.

Kono began to wonder why the ancient Sith had seen fit to build Ajunta Pall's tomb so far into the mountains. He felt as if he had been walking for over an hour, and still there was no sign of the actual burial chamber where the Dark Lord was entombed.

Suddenly, his senses pinged with alarm. Ahead lay a human corpse not two weeks old. Due to the amount of damage it looked to have sustained, it was impossible to tell whether it was a male or female body. Its arms and legs were strewn across the floor as if it had been struck down whilst running for escape. Long trails of blood stains reached farther back into the gloom.

Kono stopped and scrutinized the corpse. The typical gray jumpsuit the corpse wore was slashed and torn in dozens of places and stained with long-dried blood. What remained of its face was pressed to the floor, advanced lividity having turned the dead flesh yellow and purple as decay did its slow work.

Something about the corpse didn't feel right. Kono sensed imminent danger from an indeterminate source.

His Force perception suddenly went blind. Instinct took over.

Lightning-quick reflexes brought his lightsabre to hand in less than a second. The purple blade shot forth from the hilt only a moment later, bathing the tunnel in violet light. Kono stared in disbelief as the cadaver in front of him staggered to its feet, emitting a chilling wail.

Standing erect, shriveled entrails spilling from lacerations and deep gashes in its chest, the corpse hurled itself at Kono. He ducked under its wild leap and neatly took off its head with a swipe of his sabre. Horrifyingly, losing its head did little to discourage his undead attacker; it merely picked itself back up off the floor and came at him again. Kono kept his irrational fear firmly in check as he swiftly chopped off the corpse's arms, then sliced the remaining chunk of rotting flesh apart.

As the pieces fell to the ground, a ghostly form coalesced over the remains. The shimmering figure floated for a moment, glaring at Kono with hollow eyes, then shrieked in indignation and vanished back into the darkness ahead. Kono had little time for reflective thought as another animate corpse shambled into the ring of light cast by his lightsabre. This one carried a cortosis-strengthened sword in one hand.

Kono charged ahead at the oncoming enemy, grinning with anticipation. He was almost pleased when the shuffling corpse blocked his first strike. Its strength was surprising, considering the amount of decomposition that had taken place; the phantom muscles of its host powering the decaying limbs. Kono was disturbed by the way in which it fought. Purpose, skill, and experience was behind every stroke of the sword the corpse threw at him. Devoting his efforts to parrying his opponent's attacks, Kono could not spare the time to think on what forces could be arraying the bodies of the dead Sith against him.

The stench of rotting flesh was all around as Kono dueled with the long-dead Sith and the ghost possessing it. Sword struck lightsabre, lightsabre slashed decayed flesh, wild deflections sent sparks flying against the walls. Neither combatant could gain the upper hand; Kono was continually surprised by the corpse's unlikely skill, and it was unable to breach his defensive stance.

Angrily, Kono realized that he had been drawn into a battle playing by someone else's rules. There was no peace in his movements, they lacked the finesse of his strict discipline. He was fighting as any other Jedi or Sith might. Supernatural enemy or not, this could not be allowed to happen.

He focused his indignation, his anger, into a single lashing thought and let loose with a mighty shock wave of Force energy directed at the corpse he fought. His adversary was thrown back fifteen feet, still clutching the sword but off-balance. He let commitment to unyielding attack wash over him and charged forward with new purpose. Not to defeat but to destroy.

The maneuvers came effortlessly, striking almost of their own accord at the object of his deadly intent. Knifing swings and sudden chops paralyzed the corpse's ability to counter-attack as it became occupied fully with staving off Kono's furious assault. The possessing spirit's unnatural speed and strength wore down on the host body; stiff arms could not move with the same precision as did Kono's, its shriveled, shambling legs could not match the frantic pace the flurrying motions of the combat were enforcing.

With the advantage fully his, Kono pressed the attack even further. His swings and blows came at an even faster pace, one which the shuddering corpse could not hope to counter. Its sword slipped once and that was all Kono needed. His punishing swipe ripped through the cadaver's shrunken chest and tore apart its midsection, shoulders, and head.

Once again, as the pieces fell, Kono caught an evanescent glimpse of his ghostly adversary.

Rather than wait for the next corpse to come shuffling out of the gloom, Kono sent a compressed blast of concussive Force energy down the hall that shook the whole tunnel, dislodging the odd block and sending down showers of dust and grit. An anguished shriek sounded from up ahead.

Proceeding down the tunnel, Kono came shortly to the remains of a thick stone door lying scattered in pieces all over the floor. Beyond lay a large round chamber in the center of which stood an imposing sarcophagus. All around the chamber were bodies. Some were skeletons, others in various stages of decomposition. Kono stepped carefully over the shattered door into the gloom of the burial chamber.

In short order, a dead body rose up to oppose him. But he was no longer in a mood for a long duel with a corpse. Grimacing, he shot forth lances of blue lightning from his fingers, incinerating the rotting carcass. Another staggered to its feet right in front of him; he dismembered it with a few quick chops. A skeleton lurched at him and was disintegrated by a sudden discharge of Force energy.

The phantom was body-hopping, attempting to keep Kono fighting as long as possible. But, having only the oldest, most decomposed corpses at its disposal, it was not enough. Kono slashed through the pathetic opposition of the undead with ease. They had nothing with which to fight him, so they just launched themselves at him and were torn apart by his lightsabre.

In minutes, not one body remained intact. The floor was littered was bone fragments and chunks of decayed flesh.

For the first time, Kono saw the apparition clearly as it materialized to hover over the sarcophagus, and he finally realized who it must be. This was Ajunta Pall himself. The ghostly figure of the Dark Lord cast his head about in dismay at the ruined corpses that lay all around. He spoke in a withered voice that echoed with loneliness.

"You, how could you make it this far? How could the power of this tomb not destroy your mind? No one since my days of old has made it into my sanctum and not been consumed. And yet you stand here, facing me. How?"

The specter no longer triggered alarm from Kono's senses, there was nothing it could do to him now. Even so, he answered carefully.

"The thing about the Dark Side, and the Force in general, is you can never let it become who you are. For the moment you do, your life, your very soul is no longer yours but a pawn of the very power you seek. I am a soldier. Not Sith, not Jedi. But my mind is not blind to the teachings of either. Both have their strengths and their weaknesses, but neither can be allowed to rule the mind."

"You speak the truth. I was once Dark Lord of the Sith, Master of the Force, embodiment of the Sith spirit. It brought me nothing but what you see now; a desolate loneliness, even while I was yet alive. But there is no escape for me. My soul belongs to the Dark Side. It is, like you said, no longer my own. And so here I am, forced to haunt my grave for all eternity," the spirit uttered in a voice devoid of hope.

Kono was not moved by pity for the former Dark Lord that stood before him, instead he was disgusted at the frivolity with which the man had traded away his life.

"Your name is Ajunta Pall, millions were once inspired with respect and fear at the mere mention of that name. You rose to be Dark Lord not because of ill-conceived bargains with your soul but because you were cunning, skilled, and intelligent. I know the history of your reign, you were one of the most brilliant leaders the Sith Empire ever had.

"Look at you now; a pitiful excuse for a man without even his own identity. Stripped of everything that once made you great, you are held in thrall by the powers you so coveted." Kono spat the words, deliberately trying to provoke the spirit.

He succeeded. Rising from his stupor, the apparition's voice shook with indignation.

"You cannot judge me! You know not of what I endured, what I still endure!" The ghost shouted in fury.

"I need not know of the causes, for I can see what they have done. You were too weak to preserve that which you should have guarded at all costs. In the face of that failure, everything you thought you had accomplished is as nothing. As long as you are a slave to the Force you will never know the peace of true death and forever will you haunt this place, as you have done for thousands of years. It matters not as to the why, for the result is unchanged. Your life, or death, as it may be, is not your own; it belongs to your power," Kono reproached him.

"Then what hope is left for me?" the spirit asked.

Kono had been waiting for this very question.

"Fight. Fight for yourself, for who you used to be, for the right to die in peace, for the right to be free from the dominion of the Force. There is no other alternative; fight. Fight with everything you have, with all that is left of you. Fight to reclaim your soul from the authority of the powers to which you sold it. This is your only chance, your only hope for peace," Kono advocated.

The specter appeared convinced.

"Your words ring true, there is much wisdom in what you say," he responded. "You are not a soldier, but a Dark Lord lying in wait. I can sense much greatness within you. You may, one day lead all Sith, as I once did. To aid you on your path, I will give you my sword. It lies within my grave. To any other but you who may think to take it, it shall become as hot as flame with my fury. This is my gift to you in return for your wisdom. I am Ajunta Pall once more, and will never again submit to the domination of the Dark Side. I thank you." Ajunta's form faded as he spoke his last words, his ghostly apparition disappeared.

Kono heard the sound of sliding stone and saw the lid of the sarcophagus open, revealing the mummified remains of the Dark Lord. A long black sword was clutched in the cadaver's hands. When he reached for it, the sword flew into his hand of its own accord. He felt the power of the weapon crackling just beneath its surface, perpetually ready to be unleashed in the heat of battle. It, too, sought to enter his mind with icy tendrils of influence; as had the silent barrier at the tomb's entrance. Kono denied the creeping tentacles of perverted dark side energy access to his mind. He kept his thoughts isolated from the volatile powers of the sword, establishing dominance over it.

He swung the sword experimentally in his hand. It would be a powerful tool, just as all his powers were. But it could be nothing more.

He sensed them long before they could see him. There were about eight Sith students advancing down the tunnel towards him. Kono doubted any of them had had the strength of will to enter with their minds intact that he did. Most likely all of them were well along the road toward true slavery to the Force. When they came closer, Kono intuited that the leader of the group was Shaardan, the first arrogant Sith he had encountered on Korriban.

It was time for him to learn his place.

Shaardan grinned triumphantly when he saw the purple light of Kono's lightsabre approach from the gloom of the tunnel. His eyes widened with greed when saw, too, the black sword gripped firmly in Kono's other hand. When he spoke, any minute trace of reason that might once have existed within him was gone.

"Finally! It's about time someone retrieved the sword of Ajunta Pall. Give it to me now and I just might consider letting you live," demanded the pompous Sith.

Kono laughed in his face. It was not a pleasant laugh.

"Or what? Do you honestly believe you can kill me and take the sword?" He asked, anticipating Shaardan's reply.

"I warned you before; I'm far more powerful than you could ever be! You'll pay for your impudence, I promise you!" Without further ado, Shaardan and his companions drew their lightsabres.

Kono was already a step ahead of them. As their hands moved to the hilts that hung from their belts, he was already crossing the distance between him and them. The lightsabre in his right hand hummed with the motion and the black sword in his left seemed to quiver with expectancy. As Shaardan finished the motion of bringing his lightsabre to bear in front of him, Kono swung the sword in an upward arc, ignoring the red lightsabre completely and slicing into his opponent's arm. Shaardan's wrist and hand were chopped off diagonally and the hilt of his sabre flew, destroyed, against the wall. As he began to scream in pain, Kono's right hand stabbed the violet blade of his lightsabre up into Shaardan's gut, impaling him. The point of it stuck out between the Sith's shoulders as he tried to begin his scream; breath failing from his charred lungs.

The seven Sith seemed to move in slow motion in comparison to Kono's attack. He flowed around them, ducking under their swings with ease and delivering stinging blows with sabre and sword. With every lunge he broke through a shaky defense, or tested a more stable one. He relentlessly pushed forward, tearing into the group of Sith and leaving a trail of dead behind him.

One by one they fell to his blades, none of them having landed a single blow against him. Leaving their corpses behind, Kono continued down the tunnel and emerged fifteen minutes later into the still bright afternoon sun of Korriban. The black sword in his hand seemed to defy the sunlight to brighten its dark smoky surface.

Uthar would be pleased.


	5. Impend

Canderous was in his element. Flanked by a capable companion who understood his every signal and direction, and with nothing but straightforward blasting to do - no lightsabres to worry about - he tore through the lines of defense droids like any true Mandalorian. To his side, the assassin droid performed adeptly as well, dispatching targets with skill and "unrivaled sophistication". The defense droids, though of an advanced design for their time, could not stand up long to the unparalleled quality and muscle of the Mandalorian-made repeater rifles that both Canderous and HK-47 sported. The inferior alloy of the droids' armor dissolved in the face of the two invaders' firepower.

Getting into the tomb hadn't been as hard as it looked. The sealed entrances, Canderous found, were easily demolished with thermal detonators. The millenia-old doors of stone crumbled under the detonators' searing explosions, opening up an entryway into the tomb.

The tunnels were extensive, but every now and then the lights affixed to their blaster rifles would illuminate a pile of droid wreckage, the remains covered in lightsabre damage, indicating they were on the right track. Given the amount of turn-offs, loop-arounds, and cul-de-sacs, Canderous was glad for the body trail. Otherwise, they could be spending hours just navigating through the endless tunnels.

So far, every door they had passed on the side of the tunnels was closed. Canderous was more than a little surprised when they came to a door that was standing wide open. He peered into the small passageway inside and saw something that caught his attention; a lightsabre hilt. A sixth sense told him to use extreme caution, and his sense of smell confirmed its wisdom. The narrow hall beyond the open door smelled of dissipating nerve gas. Scuff marks on the floor around the fallen lightsabre indicated to him that a body had been dragged off.

Canderous could only come to the conclusion that Juhani had either been killed or captured by forces unknown. Kono was not going to be happy.

* * *

Juhani could do nothing more than lie helpless on the floor of the tomb chamber where she found herself, still feeling the effects of the nerve gas. She couldn't move a single muscle to get up or crawl away. Any thoughts of escape were for naught in any case, for the tomb chamber was lined with more of the deadly droids, and without her lightsabre, she would not be able to hold them all off by herself.

The torture lasted for hours. Her captor, a pale, sickly monster of a man, told her he needed to teach her how to be a real Sith. And apparently, the blue lightning shooting forth from his fingers was to do all the teaching.

Juhani quickly discovered that Force Lightning was about the most painful thing she had ever experienced. She soon ran out of breath with which to scream as the white-hot bolts of energy lanced through her body, all her nerve-endings simultaneously fired with incessant agony.

The Force could not help her, her mind was too dazed by the horrific pain to call upon her power. Yet over and over, she ran the words of the Jedi Code through her thoughts, attempting to draw her mind away from the pain. She couldn't. The Code was hollow solace, its words cold and unsympathetic to her plight. It demanded serenity from chaos, peace where none existed; it brought her no comfort and only reinforced the hopelessness of her predicament.

Juhani realized that she was going to die.

And then, something within her snapped. Through the haze of the pain, one thought stood out loud and clear; fight. It was the basest of all survival instincts, one she recalled was Kono's greatest strength. Seemingly from nowhere, his words came to her:

_Anger, when directed at the right things, is not only acceptable but necessary... Our feelings give us the power to continue when all seems lost... Emotion is a tool greater than the Force..._

Juhani realized she had plenty of anger; anger at the monster who saw fit to torture her to death merely for his amusement. Her fears of falling to the Dark Side were gone. She listened to the instincts that screamed for her not to let herself die. There was only one avenue left.

Straining weakened muscles and gasping with the new pain of aching limbs - a welcome pain - Juhani managed to clamber to her hands and knees, to face her enemy. The pale man wearing the uniform of a Sith was displeased by her abrupt show of defiance, and raised his hands again to deliver more stinging torment.

Without knowing what she was doing, Juhani gathered up a breath and screamed, putting all her anger and hatred into the vocal blast. Her shriek unleashed a wave of Force energy that knocked the Sith back several paces. Surprised and indignant at having been thwarted, the Sith cackled and drew a red lightsabre, intending simply to finish her off.

Juhani frantically tried to call on her anger again, to bring forth another miraculous burst of power, but it was gone; replaced by dumb terror at the sight of the red lightsabre and the knowledge that against it she was defenseless.

But the killing stroke never came. A sudden spray of blaster bolts hit the Sith, demolishing his face and tearing open his skull. With a rain of blood, the fresh corpse slumped to the floor in front her as she cast her gaze towards where the shots had come from. The defense droids lining the chamber did so as well, aiming their blaster cannons into the darkness and firing with reckless abandon at targets they couldn't see. But still more shots came. Fired with professional precision, the stream of hot bolts surgically gutted one droid after another. Soon the attackers came storming out of the dark hallway, cutting down any droid that took a shot at them.

Juhani had never thought in her entire life she would be glad to see a Mandalorian.

* * *

Kono grimaced at the sight that greeted him at the academy entrance. Hanging above the door by her neck was the body of Lashowe, her shirt ripped open and the word "Onasi" carved in bloody letters across her stomach. Dustil had done his job, of that there was no doubt, and he certainly had not lacked for creativity.

A crowd of Sith stood gawking at the corpse. Kono ignored them and pushed his way through. One Sith, however, saw fit to block his way. It was Mekel, the rat who had threatened him at the academy gate when he was first admitted. He had a furious look in his eyes.

"You put Onasi up to this, I know you did!" Mekel accused.

Kono remained impassive. "Perhaps I did. What is it to you?" He asked in a level voice.

"I'll kill you for this," Mekel growled.

"As I recall you made almost that exact same threat to me a few days ago, right before you turned tail and ran. I hope you don't expect to walk away from this." Kono dripped threat into his words now, giving the arrogant Sith more warning than he deserved.

"I will be the only one walking away from this, Kono. You'll pay for this," Mekel swore again, furiously.

Surprisingly, Kono detected another emotion. "You were sleeping with her, weren't you, Mekel?"

Enraged, Mekel activated his red lightsabre and lunged at Kono, wildly swinging for a killing blow. Calmly, Kono sidestepped him and ignited his own violet blade as Mekel wheeled about, lashing out with the red beam of his sabre.

The other Sith turned to watch.

Like so many other Sith students, Mekel gave no thought to how he would fight, he just did. Random flurries of strikes followed by awkward lunges and desperate parries was all he could do against Kono. His mind clouded by unrestrained hatred, there was no coordination between his movements; attacks came at random, and were as ineffectual as the bite of a mouthless worm.

Kono staved off Mekel's mindless attacks with deliberate and fluid parries, without frivolously wasting energy. He calmly bided his time, waiting for Mekel to exhaust himself. It did not take long before the angry Sith started leaving himself wide open for Kono's vicious counter-attacks, which he delivered with razor-sharp precision. He was taking it easy on Mekel, but it was all the Sith could do to even test him.

Kono grew bored with the effortless combat. Just a matter of hours ago he'd been in a similar fight. However, Mekel was not as prepared nor as determined as had been Dustil, and Kono held not even the slimmest respect for him. When he made his next mistake, it would be the last he ever made.

The Sith lunged too far, exposing his flimsy guard to an all-out assault. Kono sliced him in the side with his lightsabre. Mekel screamed, clutching his seared ribs as he fell to the floor, dropping his lightsabre. Drawn by the Force, the still-active blade flew into Kono's free hand as he stood over the wounded Sith.

There was no mercy in his eyes as he crossed the red and purple beams and sliced off Mekel's head.

The Sith who stood spectating paid him no mind as he stalked off, leaving both corpses behind.

* * *

To his satisfaction, Kono found Canderous and Juhani both waiting for him in his quarters. Juhani looked to have been through several different kinds of doom; her clothes were dirty and singed, burned in dozens of places, and she smelled of seared flesh and blood. But she was alive, and seemed immensely gratified by the fact. The Cathar sat cross-legged at the foot of the room's lone cot, repairing her lightsabre.

True to form, Canderous had found a weapon in need of maintenance or repairs in his arsenal and was field-stripping it on a desk at one end of the room. His armor had a smattering of blaster burns over it but nothing substantial. He and HK-47 looked to have handled themselves well during whatever had transpired while they assisted Juhani.

After taking account of his companions, Kono's stare found the rectangular object sitting in the middle of the cot. It was that which he had sent Juhani after in the first place; a stone tablet containing ancient Sith writings Uthar's late master Jorak Uln had hidden in the tomb of Tulak Hord. Jorak was the only person who had known the meaning of the writing, since he was the only one ever to read it. Uthar wanted it badly, to see what hidden powers it might contain.

Instead of immediately inspecting the artifact, Kono turned his attention back to Juhani.

"Well done, Juhani. You performance was admirable," he praised her, still eyeing the tablet.

She looked up, and there was something in her eyes Kono had never seen before. He wasn't quite sure what it was or what it might portend, but it was definitely different for her.

"Were it not for Canderous and your droid I would probably be dead and the artifact still lost," Juhani said in a quiet voice.

Kono glanced to Canderous, who grunted in agreement. "When we got there, the tomb was full of droids and there was a Sith in there we didn't know about," the Mandalorian elaborated.

"I believe it was Jorak Uln. The tomb was a trap. His trap. There were too many droids to hold off, so I had to keep running. And eventually, I was too exhausted to avoid his snare," Juhani continued. "After his poison gas rendered me unconscious, he took me to the Sith Lord's burial chamber and tortured me for hours." The look Kono had seen in her eyes intensified. "The words of the Jedi Code became as hollow as drunken ramblings in the face of such pain as I endured. In the end there was no alternative; my will to live overrode the comfortless words of the Jedi and I gave in to my anger."

Kono now recognized the light in her eyes. It was understanding.

"It was not the same as the first time - as when I struck down Quatra. I remembered your words and felt the necessity of it. You were right in what you said; focusing my anger on my tormentor gave me the strength to fight for my life," she explained.

"I'm glad you've come to see things this way, Juhani. We must always keep in mind that the Jedi Code has its shortcomings and never think to restrict ourselves to only its fallible perspective."

Juhani nodded. and changed the subject. "Were you successful in your own mission?" She asked.

As an answer, Kono slung the baldric from his shoulder and presented the black sword. "A gift from Lord Ajunta Pall." Eyebrows raised in fascination.

He picked up the tablet from the cot and studied the alien symbols on its face. Not being an expert on ancient Sith dialects, he couldn't decipher the messages transcribed on the stone surface. But they seemed... familiar to him, somehow. He felt as if he should know them, like they had been shown to him a long time ago, and he'd merely forgotten their meaning...

* * *

Uthar was not at all surprised when he saw the Dark Jedi Kono approach him for the fourth time in as many days. It had taken the prospective Sith very little time to start drawing his attention. First by taking to heart the Code of the Sith in a single day. Later by destroying a rampant assassin droid that had tested and killed some twelve other students. Then he had hunted down and executed a group of rogue students. None of the other students had shown him half as much skill as had Kono.

He resisted the urge to widen his eyes at the sight of what it was that Kono carried. It appeared to be a tablet covered in writing. Identical to the one he had once seen his old master with, before he and all his possessions vanished into the mountains.

Choosing to remain in his meditative pose in the center chamber, Uthar allowed Kono to draw near before acknowledging him.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked with closed eyes, not moving a muscle.

The answer confirmed his expectations and carried a welcome surprise. "The writings of Sith Lord Tulak Hord, and the sword of Ajunta Pall."

Uthar opened his eyes and stood, examining the prize Kono held out before him. The writing was genuine, the tablet the same as the one Master Uln had hidden.

"I am impressed by your resourcefulness. You must have considerable influence over the Cathar for her to give this up to you," Uthar remarked.

"She respects my power," Kono responded.

"As she should," the Sith Master commented. "You made mention of a certain sword."

The Jedi drew the black blade and held it out to him hilt first. He could feel the power of the sword even at a distance; a boiling tempest of destructive energy that seethed just below the surface. Caution told Uthar that he should not attempt to take the sword from its bearer; just as reasoning had told him Kono hadn't acquired the tablet on his own, but recruited another for the task. He listened to his caution.

"You may keep the sword. I sense it has been given to you and you alone. I will not meddle in that which Lord Ajunta has decided for his sword."

Kono bowed in gratitude and returned the sword to the sheath on his back.

"You are most impressive, Kono Gansk," Uthar declared. "Therefore, I have selected you to accompany Yuthura and I to the tomb of Naga Sadow, where you will face your last test to become full Sith. Rest well this night, for tomorrow is your final trial."

The Dark Jedi bowed once more and left.

* * *

Though he wore a neutral expression, on the inside Kono grinned with anticipation. In a matter of hours he and Yuthura would be alone with Uthar in the tomb of Naga Sadow, with both the Star Map and control of the Sith Academy within his reach.


	6. Seizure Of Power

_One day later..._

If there was anything Kono had learned about ancient Sith tombs it was to never make assumptions and always be on guard. Especially in this particular one, Sith Lord Naga Sadow's tomb, the final proving ground for prospective Sith. Earlier that morning he had entered with Master Uthar and Yuthura for his test. He had been instructed to retrieve a Sith lightsabre from one of the inner chambers; he had but to return bearing the lightsabre and he would be full Sith, and then he and Yuthura would kill Uthar.

The inner chambers were guarded by all manners of ghastly things. Kono scouted each one, taking note of their unique defenses and surroundings. At one such entrance a door hanging ajar revealed a pair of bare skeletons. They looked to have been savagely mauled by a huge creature. When he more closely inspected the bones, Kono found long, distinctive tooth marks that could have only come from one of two types of predator; the zakkeg or the terentatek.

Zakkegs lived only in jungles, so that left one possibility.

Kono ignited the lightsabre in his hand and gripped the sword of Ajunta Pall with the other, edging into the room beyond the bony remains. He could sense nothing, but knew the creature must be there, its natural properties hiding it from his perception. Holding both blades out to his side, Kono advanced to the center of the antechamber in which he found himself.

A roar from the shadows at the corners of the room alerted Kono to his stalker's presence. He whipped around to face the beast charging towards him, its faceless head bristling with teeth as razor-sharp as a firaxa's. It swiped at him with huge, armor-plated arms strong enough to tear a hole in a starship hull.

With a Force-assisted jump he slipped clear of the creature's deadly swing, leaping over the beast's head. As he fell, he brought the violet blade of his lightsabre down on the beast's spine. But, to his surprise, his strike slid off the tough hide, doing little damage and enraging the fearsome predator. He saw the creature's arm coming around again and catapulted himself into a leap backward but was unable to avoid being grazed by the massive limb.

The blow sent Kono flying across the room to land heavily in a corner, amidst a pile of shattered bone fragments. He looked up to see the terentatek charging at him again and scrambled into a roll to evade the beast's searching claws.

Fury boiling from the black sword in his hand, he lashed out at the creature's disturbingly articulate fingers. Kono was rewarded by a bellow of pain from the terentatek as the sword severed two of the lethal claws from its hand. He ducked quickly and spun out of reach again as the beast's remaining claws came in a slashing arc for him. A frontal assault appeared ineffective, but the creature was definitely not invincible.

Kono deftly struck out with the sword again, glancing the side of the beast's mouth and breaking one of its spear-like teeth. It roared with ire and grasped for him with its dangerous claws and deadly teeth. Kono retreated carefully from the creature, backing up across the room and maneuvering so his back was to the still-closed door leading to the inner chambers. Tempting the beast, he stabbed his violet lightsabre straight into its mouth, shattering razor-sharp incisors and searing its maw. Snarling, the terentatek stampeded towards him.

With scrupulous timing, Kono jumped out of the way and let the monster crash into the door behind him, the lightsabre blade still sticking from its fang-studded mouth. A web of cracks appeared in the sturdy stone at the point of impact, but the door remained intact. But the collision had driven his lightsabre clean through the terentatek's head. It staggered about, flailing randomly with its long arms as the blazing heat of the lightsabre blade in its skull burned away brain tissue.

Ducking under the misguided but powerful swings and dodging the deadly claws, Kono moved in, hefting the sword of Ajunta Pall. With all his strength, he stabbed the black blade into flesh of the creature's neck. The sword sank in and pierced vital arteries, splitting them wide open as he jerked the blade free. Blood gushed from the monster's neck and it toppled over on its side.

Not to take any chances, Kono grasped the hilt of his lightsabre, still embedded in the head, and gave it a brutal twist. The terentatek spasmed as the purple blade scoured out what was left of its central nervous system and then lay still.

Satisfied at the creature's demise, Kono turned his attention to stone barrier that obstructed his path into the tomb's inner sanctum. The crash of the heavy beast into the doors had weakened but not breached them. A spider-web pattern of cracks radiated outward from the point of impact, indicating the best point for him to attack the remaining impediment.

Tentatively, he pushed at the doors with Force waves, feeling for the weakest spots where he could focus a strike. Coiling up a massive burst, Kono concentrated on the frailest point and unleashed his power. The doors disintegrated, stone shooting inward from the energy of his Force blast, opening the passage to the innermost parts of the tomb.

Down the halls waited Naga Sadow's burial chamber.

The dead Sith Lord had by far the most ornate sarcophagus of any Kono had seen. But he was quick to brush aside its magnificent sight when he spotted a familiar artifact standing at the rear of the chamber. His pulse began to pound with exhilaration as he approached the Star Map, its three arms unfolding as he drew near. A glowing representation of the known galaxy appeared between the encircling arms of the artifact. Just as had the ones on Dantooine and Tatooine, the Star Map before him displayed an incomplete set of hyperspace coordinates around one highlighted sector. Kono carefully recorded these on his personal datapad alongside the others he had gotten from the two previous maps.

His primary mission to Korriban was complete. Now he needed only one more thing to wrap up his secondary objective.

Kono found the Sith lightsabre in the hands of a decorative statue of the deceased Sith Lord. Smiling in satisfaction, he clipped it next to his own sabre and took a final glance around the legendary tomb of Naga Sadow before turning to make his way towards his inevitable duel with Uthar.

* * *

Kono found Uthar and Yuthura waiting right where he had left them, just inside the entrance to the tomb.

"We meet again," Uthar remarked as Kono approached. "Have you fulfilled your task?" He inquired. Kono presented the Sith lightsabre for his inspection. Uthar was satisfied. "Most impressive. My compliments on your performance. Most students who make it out alive spend six to eight hours; you made it in less than three.

"Congratulations are in order. Following your final test, you will have the full distinction of a proper Sith."

At Uthar's last statement, Yuthura's eyes shifted, instantly alert. Kono frowned in suspicion as Uthar continued.

"Ordinarily you would face another student in this last of your tests. You, however, have the honor of facing my apprentice, Yuthura." The Sith Master smirked ever so slightly as he pronounced the final challenge.

Yuthura was furious. "So that's what this is about? You simply wish me killed?"

Uthar's next word was among the evilest things Kono had ever heard.

"Yes."

Sneering in contempt, Yuthura ignited her lightsabre in a flash. "Unfortunately, _Master_, our dear Kono has already agreed to help me kill _you_," she triumphantly declared.

The tattooed face of Master Uthar turned back to Kono, who smiled humorlessly at him. "Is this true, young one? You wish to face me in lightsabre combat? You will lose most sorely and will have gained nothing for your efforts here. You will die."

"Agreements were made, Uthar; arrangements taken care of. Yuthura and I both stand to gain much from your death," Kono informed the Sith, fingering the violet lightsabre at his belt.

"Very well," Uthar replied, his voice dangerously low. He activated his own lightsabre. "Prepare to die."

In an instant, as Uthar leaped forward, Kono simultaneously activated his violet blade and flung the red Sith lightsabre to Yuthura, who caught it effortlessly with her free hand. As Yuthura triggered the switch on the second lightsabre and held the two beams out in front of her, Uthar's first strike clashed against Kono's careful guard. He grunted at Uthar's strong attack, pushing the Sith Master away to gain space in which to fight.

Yuthura struck out with her twin sabres but they were deflected by a quick parry from Uthar's single blade. Kono lunged into the fray, stabbing forward with his blade to come up against the Sith's defense.

The Sith Master had tremendous strength and dexterity. He was able to concurrently hold off Yuthura's double-bladed attack whilst still keeping Kono's lightsabre at bay. Kono was impressed by his utter finesse and skill. Obviously, taking him down was not going to be easy; a welcome challenge.

A blow from Kono's lightsabre ricocheted off Uthar's blade. Giving the violet beam a quick twirl, he struck back with a vengeance, coinciding his swing with one of Yuthura's. Grimacing, Uthar parried all three blades at once. He gave Yuthura a stiff Force push, knocking her backward against the cold wall to turn his full attention to Kono. The tattooed Sith mounted his first counter-attack with a vicious under-handed swing aimed at his opponent's knees. Kono came up with a swift block and knocked the red blade away, then returned the favor by arcing his violet sabre towards Uthar's unguarded flank. A lightning-quick parry prevented Kono from sinking his lightsabre into the Sith Master.

Having recovered from her momentary incapacitation, Yuthura jumped back into the fight, making brutal lashes with her lightsabres. Showing incredible fortitude, Uthar deflected her strikes in turn whilst fending off a chop and quick thrust from Kono.

The three combatants were now moving about the tunnel in the furious motions of their struggle. Feet nimbly avoiding fallen rocks and bones on the floor, Kono and Yuthura pushed Uthar into a retreating battle. The Sith Master attempted to distract his opponents by hurling debris at them with the Force. Kono and Yuthura easily repelled the refuse thrown at them with swift chops of their sabres.

Kono could see the hatred bursting from Uthar's eyes, well-trained and deadly. He recognized the familiarity of the Sith Master's fighting style; not in motions or discipline, but intensity. The rage behind Uthar's every move matched Kono's determination.

Kono cast aside all inhibitions and let his instinct guide him, relentlessly pressing the attack on Uthar. The Makashi lightsabre form flowed from his movements as naturally as his heart beat. At a pace faster than Yuthura could match, he ruthlessly advanced, landing hard strikes and fierce blows against the tattooed Sith's defense. His swings came dangerously close at times, taxing Uthar's guard at every turn. Every counter-attack from Uthar he turned into an advantage, striking out in the Sith's moments of weakness.

The frenzied fighting had carried them to the edge of a deep pit in which simmered a pool of corrosive acid; one of the tomb's ancient defense mechanisms. Kono's ruthless attack drove Uthar right to its brink. He could begin to sense the Sith Master's confidence waning, and lunged forward to deliver a solid strike.

Then Uthar did something completely unexpected. He simply ducked under the swing. Caught by surprise, Kono had left himself wide open for a counter-attack, which Uthar exploited with a sharp Force push that sent him tumbling over the precipice.

Kono hung seemingly in midair as time slowed to a crawl. In a matter of milliseconds his outward inertia would turn downward and drag him into the caustic liquid beneath. As time ticked into the next imperceptible instant, he unfolded his hands from around the hilt of his lightsabre and spun his body to catch the lip of the pit as he began to fall. His hands touched the stone edge and time rushed forward. His lightsabre hit the surface of the acid below with a hissing splash.

The tattooed face of Uthar had little time to glare triumphantly down at Kono. Yuthura's twin lightsabres distracted him from finishing off the disadvantaged Jedi.

Kono grimaced with exertion as he dragged his body back over the threshold. A lethal rage bubbled forth within him as he planted a foot on the floor and launched himself at Uthar with a Force-assisted leap. Spinning in mid-flight, he drew the sword of Ajunta Pall in one fluid motion. His feet hadn't even touched the ground before the black sword clashed against Uthar's red lightsabre.

Too late, Uthar saw the fire in Kono's eyes; from his rage and the power of the sword. The next swing of the black sword came much lower than he anticipated, and far too fast to do anything about. The blade chopped through Uthar's legs with a sickening crunch, spraying blood everywhere as it severed both at the knees.

Roaring in pain, the now-legless Sith fell heavily to the stone floor in an rapidly-expanding pool of blood. His lightsabre rolled out of his hand and extinguished itself.

Panting, Kono glared down at his fallen foe. "Uthar Wynn, your time as Academy Master is ended." With his pronouncement, he drove the point of his sword down onto Sith's neck and jerked it upward.

Uthar's head split in two, spilling vast quantities of blood and soft tissue into the already-expansive pool. The rage summoned by the black sword abated at the sight. Kono slowly lowered the blade to his side.

"Well done, Kono. Well done, indeed," Yuthura purred in approval.

Kono turned his attention back to the Twi'lek, suddenly sensing deception.

"Unfortunately for you, I never intended to share my power," she cackled with cold delight. "You should have taken me up on my first offer of a private room; I don't think we'll have that enjoyable night after all."

And then she lunged for him, striking out with her two lightsabres.

Kono brought the black blade up in a split-second to block her red sabres. From within his being, he focused a lance of razor-sharp anger at Yuthura's betrayal and cast it as a searing bolt of blue lightning from his hand. The Sith expertly deflected the blast upward with interlocking lightsabre beams, causing the lightning to gouge a crater in the ceiling. Blinking amidst the dust, the combatants continued.

Wild thrusts from Yuthura's twin blades were turned aside by skilled parries from Kono's sword. He deftly blocked her moves while at the same time making attacks of his own. The sounds of the clashing blades filled the room, scintillating red and white flashes provided staccato illumination as strikes were parried with precision.

Rather than rely on blunt anger to overwhelm his opponent, Kono used it to channel his energies into ever more sharp and devastating attacks whilst keeping his mind on the fight. He never lashed at Yuthura without a clear plan for dealing with her counter-attacks. Her twin sabres were dangerous if one became inattentive. Kono was never inattentive; his eyes tracked every movement of her red blades, watching to keep on guard against them and searching for an opening.

Kono began to sense Yuthura's weakness; she was fatigued from the fight with Uthar. He, on the other hand, felt as if he could fight her all day. He pressed his attack sorely against her, his sword crashed into her lightsabres with greater ferocity and blinding force, pushing her back two steps for every one she gained on him. This only drained her further, and soon she began to make mistakes.

He blocked a thrust of one of her lightsabres, pinned it beneath his black blade, and gave her a hard head-butt before she had a chance to bring her other sabre into play. The Twi'lek was knocked off-balance, giving Kono an irresistible opportunity.

Deftly, he flicked the closest lightsabre out of her hand with a damaging blow to the exposed hilt. As it spun away into the darkness and Yuthura swung at him with her remaining sabre, Kono lunged at her. He ducked beneath her arm and her swing missed him entirely. But he did not miss. His sword sliced deep into the bicep muscle of her arm. The lightsabre dropped from her hand as she screamed in pain and clutched her arm, falling to her knees before Kono.

His black sword now having tasted the blood of two Sith, Kono stood before the defeated Yuthura like nothing so much as an executioner. She looked weakly up at his stern brown eyes.

"I fall to a master," she acknowledged. "Truly is your power greater than my own. There could have been no other outcome. Kill me now."

Kono hardened his gaze. "No. I will not kill you."

"But you must! Only the strongest may rule, it is the Sith way!" Yuthura insisted.

A fire came into Kono's eyes. He grimaced with rage and backhanded her viciously, sending her to the floor.

"Ways change!" He shouted, furious. "Should I waste a woman of your talent merely because you cannot match me in battle? Would a true Sith throw away such a valuable ally so frivolously? You yourself do not even truly believe so; you spared Lashowe and Lydel even though they were useless morons! If you cannot hold yourself to these teachings, do not presume to instruct me!"

Ire plain on his face but with but with a more controlled voice, he went on. "All your life, Yuthura, you have been searching for purpose. You thought you had found it with the Sith, but in reality you were just as directionless being a master at the Academy as when you were a slave." Continuing, Kono brought forth a powerful, commanding tone. "I now give you purpose. You will serve me."

Yuthura lowered her eyes. "Yes, Lord Kono. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to better myself," she said in a voice of obeisance. The familiarity of the words was not lost on Kono; just days ago he'd heard Lashowe say almost the exact same thing to Yuthura.

"I am your servant," the Twi'lek woman vowed. Kono could read her marked sincerity as plain as the tattoos she bore on her face and neck.

"Rise," he commanded.

Obediently, Yuthura struggled to her feet, still holding her bleeding arm with one hand. She looked into his eyes with newfound understanding and respect.

"Yuthura Ban, in my absence I charge you to be Master of the Sith Academy. You will take Dustil Onasi as your apprentice and teach him everything you know. You must continue the process I have begun with you; you must question traditions, practices, and even some teachings. Many of these ancient customs do the Sith empire more harm than good. The Sith have gone astray, they are too concerned with destruction to begin thinking about creation; upon such a feeble foundation empires collapse. When I next return, I expect the Sith here to be strong, ready, and waiting to do their lord's bidding," decreed Lord Kono, Yuthura's Master.

She bowed. "Yes, Master. I will do as you command."

The sound of dripping blood caught Kono's attention. Yuthura was still bleeding from the gash in her arm.

"Hold out your arm," he said.

"My lord?"

"You are bleeding still."

Yuthura was genuinely surprised. "It is nothing I cannot bear."

"I know that. Give me your arm," he pressed.

Dutifully, she held out her wounded limb. Kono took a kolto injector from his belt and grasped her arm, slowly dribbling the gelatinous fluid into the wound. Yuthura hissed in pain as the kolto did its work, sealing the wound with pseudo-tissue in less than thirty seconds.

"What are you?" She asked, amazed by his generosity. "You are not Jedi, you are not Sith..."

"I am Kono."

* * *

For the second time in the same amount of days, a crowd of Sith students gathered by the entrance to the Valley of the Dark Lords to gawk at a corpse. This time, however, the body on display was the shattered halves of Master Uthar's head. Presenting the grotesque proofs, Kono had declared himself Master of the Academy. At the grisly evidence of his supremacy, few raised any objections. Yuthura was to be his arbiter and Academy Master in his absence, as he intended to be leaving Korriban shortly. Those few who did not recognize his authority were quickly dealt with.

Now Kono had but one more thing at the Sith Academy to take care of; Dustil Onasi.

He found him sparring with Juhani on one of the training floors. Canderous and HK-47 loitered close by, watching Onasi carefully.

Observing, he saw that Onasi was more reserved in his attacks than he had previously been. There was purpose behind his thrusts and swings. On the other hand, Juhani had become more vicious. Her movements were no longer in the slow, obstructionist style of lightsabre combat that Jedi teaching imposed. She put fire in her strikes, making her every move a danger to her opponent. He thought it strangely ironic how he had encouraged opposite traits in the two of them while swaying them both towards invariably the same goal.

As the two combatants clashed sabres, Kono drew his black sword and thrust their blades apart, interrupting.

"Kono, you are back!" Juhani exclaimed. "Did you--were you successful?"

Kono nodded his head, surreptitiously indicating the datapad at his belt. "It's time for us to leave," he said, making sure Canderous and the droid heard as well.

"What about our deal?" Dustil demanded, still breathing heavily from the session.

"Master Uthar is dead by my hand and Yuthura now serves me. She will be Master of the Academy in my absence," he narrowed his gaze at the young Sith, "and you will be her apprentice."

Dustil's eyes widened.

Kono continued on. "You have made valuable progress, but when I return I expect you to have a fuller understanding of how best to use the power of your anger. It is one of the basic Sith teachings that you are not a slave to the Force. Most Sith do not even realize how easily they contradict this proverb. I expect better from you."

"I'll have become a greater Sith than anyone else here when you come back, Master Kono. I promise," Dustil pledged.

"Set such a goal if you will, but you must have a plan achieving it or you will never come close. This is another principle you must master; that of strategy. Most Sith think of brute force as strategy, but you must go beyond that; learn to rely on your wits every bit as much as your strength," Kono admonished.

"Yes, Master. I will, Master."

"It may be days before I return, or it could be months. But when I do..."

"There will be progress. I swear it."

"Good. I must now take my leave."

* * *

Word of Master Uthar's demise and Kono's ascendancy had traveled fast. No Sith gave them any trouble as Kono and his companions passed through Dreshdae. Any who so much as caught sight of his black robes hastened to get out of his way. No pompous fools like Shaardan or Lashowe smugly claimed superiority over him as he and his small entourage crossed the tiny colony.

Entering Dreshdae's diminutive spaceport, the _Ebon Hawk_ became visible in the distance to Kono and the others. Workers scurried about in-between the various landing pads and fuel depots like insects in a hive.

A man with a shaved head and a face with the consistency of sandpaper brushed past Kono and passed directly in front of Juhani. He stopped and stared at her, recognition in his eyes. Juhani hissed a single syllable.

"Xor!"

She spat the name like a vile oath, instantly catching Kono's attention. He halted, examining the stranger. Sadistic menace radiated from the hideous man.

The man grinned at her exclamation. "I thought you looked familiar," he remarked in a grating voice.

"Do we have a problem?" Kono inquired.

"No. No problem. I'm just surprised to see your Cathar here. You see, she looks just like another Cathar I had several years back on Taris. Couldn't be the same one since she's long dead. But I suppose she could've had offspring," the man responded casually.

Juhani shook with rage. "He speaks of my mother, Kono. She was his _slave_!" She said through teeth gritted in anger as she glared intensely at the other man.

Kono raised his eyebrow as he regarded the stranger. "You took Cathar slaves, then?"

"Only the ones worth keeping, which pretty much excludes all the males. They're nothing but rabid beasts who need to be put down like the animals they are," he said with all the concern of a pest exterminator.

"Now females like yours, however, I'd be willing to pay for. How much do you want for her? I'm sure we can work something out," the vile man reasoned.

"This man delights in tormenting and murdering my people, Kono! Let me kill him!" Juhani demanded, her fury boiling over.

The man took a step back. "Now wait a minute! Don't let your Cathar get out of control!" He protested.

Kono didn't flinch as he answered. "If you wish to do so, Juhani, I'll not stop you."

Her eyes filled with vengeful wrath, Juhani reached for the man who had enslaved and murdered her mother and gripped his neck with the Force. He pried desperately at his throat with his hands in an attempt to slide out of her invisible choke-hold, but she only pinched tighter. When his face began to turn blue she released him and let him fall to the ground to gasp the air gratefully.

She lashed out with her leg to catch him in the side of the face with her booted foot. A crunching sound announced that she had broken his teeth.

Juhani leaped onto the man and punched his face repeatedly as he lay gasping. His nose broke from a vicious blow, streaming blood onto his face and staining Juhani's fists as she continued to hit him.

Kono started in surprise as one of his wrist-blades flew from its place on his belt and jumped into Juhani's hand. She grasped it by the handle and plunged it into the man's neck. He screamed as she dug her fingers into the stab wound and savagely ripped out his throat.

Blood was everywhere.

Kono slowly approached his companion and gently took his bloody blade from her hand.

"My mother can now rest in peace," she whispered.

He took her shoulders and lifted her to her feet. "Come, Juhani. Let's go."

Bastila was waiting for them when they reached the _Ebon Hawk_.

Her senses pinged with alarm at the sight that greeted her. Even before she saw them Bastila knew that something was wrong with Kono and Juhani. The black sword slung over Kono's shoulder and the blood all over Juhani served only to reinforce her intuitive conclusion. To her horror, she realized it was the Dark Side she felt from them.

"Kono, what have you done?" She asked in shock.

"What I had to do," he answered in a tired voice. Bastila stared dumbly after him as he made his way to the cockpit.

"Take us out of here, Carth. We have other places to be."

The yellow glow of the _Hawk_'s engines blazed like a solar flare as they propelled the ship into space, leaving Korriban behind.


End file.
